


Always you

by Lucky_Moony



Series: Domestic Bliss for the Gayer Good [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus is kind of a disaster gay, Auror!Gellert, Bathilda is a badass, Don't copy on another site, Fluff, Getting Back Together, Happy Ending, Hogsmeade cottage, Humor, Is Gretchen a Seer?, Is this a slow burn?, Learning To Be Parents, Living Together, M/M, Mending the pieces after the three-way duel, Mentions of Sex, Not Canon Compliant, Now that he is getting some Gellert won t shut up about it, Post Mpreg, Romance, Spring 1900, Vinda and Gellert are BFF, domestic bliss at it's best, matchmaker!Bathilda, sassy Gellert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-09-29 13:56:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17204624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucky_Moony/pseuds/Lucky_Moony
Summary: Barely eight months after the three-way duel, Gellert Grindelwald reappears in Godric's Hollow with a newborn in his arms.What exactly is going on and how will Grindeldore get back together?





	1. That awkward moment when you meet your ex for the first time

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I am back in the Harry Potter fandom after a few years away from it.  
> I’m now (happily) trapped in Grindeldore hell and I’ve decided this pairing needed more fluff and more AUs(sadly, I can’t write anything else).  
> Of course, I’ve decided to write a Mpreg, because we all needed to see teenage Grindelwald with a newborn in his arms.  
> English is not my first language, so feel free to point out any mistakes you might see.

It was mid April and the sky was grey as Albus Dumbledore, an eighteen year old wizard, stared out the kitchen window of his family home.

Nothing but silence could be heard inside the house since Aberforth, Albus’s younger brother, was back to Hogwarts to pursue his studies.

In fact, the latter hadn’t even showed up for the Christmas holidays, which wasn’t that surprising after all, since the two still weren’t on speaking terms since the horrible three-way duel that had occurred between them and Gellert Grindelwald, Albus’s _closest friend_ , on a disastrous and stormy night last August.

Gravely wounded by a rebound curse that had been thrown by one of the three men, Ariana, the youngest of the Dumbledore siblings, had almost died that night.

Honoria, their aunt, had decided to take her into her own care since the mysterious incident.

Without a doubt, the spinster was taking better care of the little girl than her brothers ever did.

Albus hadn’t been the same since that fateful night where it seemed he had both lost his family and the love of his life.

Truth be told, Gellert Grindelwald wasn’t just Albus’s closest friend.

He was his other half; his soulmate.

No one would ever take his place in Albus’s heart.

In fact, Albus hadn’t been able to focus on anything since the last seven months, two weeks and three days…

Not that he had been counting.

As a result, the house was dusty and literally seemed to be falling apart, he had lost a lot of weight (and he didn’t had any to loose to begin with) and his latest work, an article he was supposed to write on simple transfiguration wasn’t even halfway done even though he had been supposed to send it in two weeks ago already.

Money was extremely sparse and if things continued this way, he would have no choice but to sell the house, something Aberforth would never forgive him for.

A pile of letters sent by his good friend Elphias Dodge was resting on the counter, close to the kitchen sink, unopened.

Dodge was a good friend, but it wasn’t from him Albus desperately wanted to hear from...

It was from Grindelwald he had hoped to get a letter.

The latter was probably somewhere in Europe, busy with his search of the deathly hallows and with that revolution of his- _of theirs_.

Albus was certainly already out of his mind; their blood pact broken and thrown in a gutter somewhere.

Oh, how stupid had Albus been?

Barely two weeks after meeting Grindelwald for the first time, Albus was already head over heels for the boy and the two had kissed.

It was the first time in his life Albus had ever met a boy like Gellert, who was as intelligent and as brilliant as him.

Barely three weeks after their first meeting, they were already sharing everything together: their thoughts, their dreams, their bodies and their love.

 _Oh, how naïve had he been_?

That summer, the world had seemed to be there for them to take and he had felt invincible with Gellert at his side.

When they were making love together everything seemed to finally set to right and in those moments, Albus had felt alive and happy for the first time in his existence.

The young wizard shook his head as he tried to clear his thoughts.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on the past...

If he could just focus on this wretched article, maybe he could-

His breath caught in his throat as he stared at his neighbor’s backyard.

Hidden in the shadow of a tall tree was standing, like an apparition or a nightmare, a lanky figure dressed all in black with glowing shoulder length golden curls.

It seemed Gellert Grindelwald was finally back and Merlin be praised, Albus wasn’t going to let him go that easily

***

As Gellert was leaning against one of the beech trees, he tried not to glance too much at the Dumbledore’s old house.

After all, he was only here for a couple of days. There was no need for him to stir any drama with her aunt’s closest neighbors.

All he needed was to get some rest and his magic back to his fullest potential and he would be back on the roads as if nothing had ever happened to him.

He had always been on his own to deal with everything and now wasn’t the time where he would do otherwise.

His old Tante Hilda was the only exception to the rule.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple.

He could feel a headache was creeping up.

Last night had been rough and he hadn’t been able to get a lot of sleep.

In fact, it seemed he hadn’t been able to sleep properly for the last eight months or so…

Which in his current situation was fully understandable.

As he took a sharp intake of breath, he felt something shift in the air around him.

He heard a branch snap close to him and he smirked as he felt the tip of a wand in the crook of his neck.

‟Hello, Albus.”Gellert slowly opened his mismatched eyes and stared at the other man.‟Why don’t you go back to your place and mind your own business? Your siblings are probably already wondering where you are and we don’t want them to worry now, don’t we?”

Albus glared at him, but lowered his wand.

He too did seem to have had a rough time during his absence.

‟Grindelwald, how dare you come back here?”

It was Gellert’s turn to glare at him.‟ I see we are back to calling each other by our last name. It saddens me Dumbledore. It really does.”

Albus stared blankly at his lover.

E _x-lover_ , he corrected himself.

‟I have nothing left to say to you Dumbledore. You are free to leave now. You’ve made your choice very clear last summer when you chose your siblings over me.”

‟This is my fault now, is it?” Albus let out a bitter laugh. ‟You were the one who ran away when my sister was struck by that spell! She could have died from it. Thank Merlin she didn’t.”

Gellert shrugged and tried to look disinterested by the whole conversation, but his shaking right hand was telling Albus otherwise.

‟I tried to find you the morning after our fight, but your aunt told me you had ran off during the night. You’ve not even taken the time to write to me since you fled like a coward.”

‟ _What about you_? Did you send me any news?” Gellert turned around and crossed his arms over his chest.‟It was supposed to be us against the world. I thought you said you were _mine_ and only mine,but it seems you can’t stay true to your words.”

A glint of silver caught Albus’s eye from within Gellert’s shirt collar.

It seemed their pendant wasn’t lying in a gutter somewhere across Europe. It still was around Gellert’s neck.

Albus snorted with disdain.‟And you once said I was the needy one out of us two…”

‟ _I_ don’t need anyone.” Gellert’s mismatched eyes glinted with coldness as it seemed he wouldn’t be able to contain his rage any longer.

Albus had struck a sore point. He too pulled his wand out.

***

Magic was cackling in the air between them and Albus could feel his heart thumping loudly in his chest. His knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on his wand.

Who would cast an hex first?

It seemed a duel was inevitable by now...

It wasn’t clear if one of them momentarily lost control of it’s magic or if Mother Nature wanted to protest against their arguing, but suddenly the sound of thunder reverberated over their head with a loud _boom._

A few seconds later, a loud wail was heard coming from the depths of Bathilda’s old house. Gellert glared at his opponent once more before he turned around and ran back to the house, profusely cursing in German on his way to the door.

Albus stood there dumbfounded as the wail grew higher before it subsided a few seconds later.

It was curious, really, how that sound closely reminded him of a crying baby.

But surely, this was impossible?

What if Bathilda was in there and was hurt or had been cursed by dark magic?

What if Gellert really had kidnapped a kid to conduct one of his twisted dark magic experiment on?

Only listening to his Gryffindor courage, Albus hesitated a second before he pushed the back door open and followed Gellert inside.

Doubt seized him as he uttered a quick _lumos_ and searched for the blonde in the dark house.

Rain was now pouring outside and the wailing had been replaced by Gellert’s voice.

The latter was talking soothingly in German which was even more odd.

Maybe Bathilda owned mandrakes or something?

As Albus turned the corner of the main corridor, what remained of his broken heart turned into dust as he spotted Gellert holding something that was wrapped in a thick black blanket close to his heart.

And to his growing horror, he discovered it really was a real tiny newborn with a white lace little bonnet on it’s head that was wrapped in that blanket.

Not only had Gellert left him all of those months ago― _without even a word_ ―, but it seemed he had also quickly replaced him in his bed –with a woman, nonetheless- and it was _oh_ , so much worse to think about.


	2. The moment you realize you might not really be over your ex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much everyone for all the kudos and the comments. This is making me write so much faster ! (Plus, I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested by the premise of this story 😉)
> 
> *This fic should be around 6 to 8 chapters ( and the ending is already written :D).*
> 
> You’ll see, as you read along, that I might have given too much thoughts to Bathilda’s backstory XD
> 
> Enjoy and please bear in mind English is not my first language.

Five minutes later, Bathilda Bagshot, carrying her infamous dark green umbrella in one hand and a large bag in the other,entered into her living room just as her great-nephew  was sitting down on the settee.

She flashed him a smile as he yawned and closed his eyes for a minute. He was holding his baby who seemed to be calm and back to sleep… for now.

‟I’ve bumped into Albus on my way here.” Bathilda began as she pulled two fresh jugs of goat milk from out of her bag and placed them on the table. ‟He seemed pretty agitated. Have you told him everything then, my dear?”

‟I’ve nothing to say to him,” stated Gellert as he shrugged.‟He simply broke into your house. I would _never_ invite him over.”

Bathilda rolled her eyes and sighed. Her great-nephew had quite a temper.

Yet, so did she when she was around his age…

In fact, many things about Gellert reminded her of her younger self, which might be why she had such a soft spot  for him.

She too had been a rebel...

                                  Had felt misunderstood…                                                              

                                                                            Had delved on a darker path in her youth and had reveled in forbidden love.

This summed up perfectly well why she had taken Gellert in her care when he had been expelled from Durmstrang and hadn’t been shocked when she had learned that he and her young protégé, Albus Dumbledore, were having a passionate love affair right under her roof.

When Gellert had showed up on her doorstep three nights ago, worse for wear and with a baby in his arms, she had yet again taken him with open arms. Without an afterthought, she had listened to his incredulous tale.

And _incredulous_ was certainly one way to put it.

First, he had told her about the blood pact he had made with Albus during the summer and about how he had found out he was carrying a child, _Albus’s child_ , in Prague.

Then, she had forced him to eat and to rest before he had told her about how he had been taken in by a weird magical association that had simply locked him up in order to study him and his unborn child and how he had miraculously ran away from that place by jumping out of a window with an hour old newborn tucked into his shirt.

She hadn’t doubted his words even though the whole tale seemed incredible, earning Gellert’s trust in the process (something that wasn’t easy to acquire in the first place).

She cleared her thoughts in order to focus on the present and nodded in the baby’s direction.‟And how was our little angel while I was away?”

‟She fussed and cried almost all morning, as she does every time I try to place her in her cradle.” Gellert tucked one of his unruly curls behind his left ear.‟Then, she drank two bottles of milk and fussed some more afterwards.” He paused.‟I  really wonder why I haven’t left her behind when I fled that wretched place.”

Bathilda smiled discreetly as she spotted Gellert quickly kiss the baby and reaffirm his grip on her when he thought she wasn’t looking at him.

It was clear to her that Gellert was very attached to his daughter even though she wasn’t an easy child to take care of.

He yawned some more before he went on. ‟When I finally managed to get her to sleep, I tried to do some wandless magic but it obviously failed, as you’ll see when you will get back to your laundry. I went outside to get some rest and Dumbledore showed up.”

‟Give yourself some time. You’ve had a living magical child in your womb for the last few months. I think this is perfectly normal your magic is acting up! It will probably soon be back to normal.”Bathilda sat down next to her great-nephew. ‟Now, hand the little one over so you can try to get some rest. I can easily feed her when the time comes and you really do seem like you are about to pass out of exhaustion.”

Gellert sighed, stared at the sleeping baby and hesitated for a minute before he handed her to Bathilda.

As she was changing arms ,the newborn’s face scrunched  and her little cap fell off of her head.  Her hand went to her mouth and she went back to sleep.

At not even two weeks old, Gretchen Grindelwald really looked like a tiny doll. She had began to loose some of the brownish hair she had at birth and the new ones that were growing now were thicker and of a rich auburn color.

‟Looks like she is going to be a redhead just like her dad,” commented Bathilda as she placed the cap back on the baby’s head. ‟You’ll need to tell dear Albus at some point she’s his, or else, I am going to do so myself.”

Gellert mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like _'it's none of his business; she’s mine_ ′ and stormed out of the room.

 _Ah, those boys will be the death of me,_ thought Bathilda as she held the baby closer to her heart.

But Gretchen, she had decided, would be her pride and joy.

***

Three days after his last meeting with Grindelwald, Albus felt like a brand new man. He absolutely 100% was now over his ex and he was finally back to his normal self.

He had cleaned the house a little, had taken some time to feed Aberforth’s goat (those would need some grooming too) and had even sent a letter in reply to Elphias.

He had spotted Grindelwald in Bathilda’s backyard thrice already since their last meeting and he proudly had felt nothing at the sight of him.

_Absolutely nothing._

The next time he would see him, he would _politely_ ask him to give him back their pendant and would congratulate him on his new girlfriend and on the fact that he now was a father at seventeen.

Which was too bad for him, honestly.

Yes, life was good and he had absolutely no regrets…

If he ignored Bathilda when she visited him and invited him over for dinner through his closed door, it purely was because he did not want to waste any food…

If he had dreamed about making out with Gellert two nights in a row, it simply was because he had had too much of said food...

_Yes, he was fully cured and all was well._

He was just working on his article and was certainly not contemplating the fact that Gel- that Grindelwald’s light was on in his bedroom, or at least in the room that used to be his bedroom last summer and where Albus had spent many an hour reading, discussing, debating and hum…engaging in various undressed activities, when he heard a faint knock on his window and a swooping sound.

It was too late for him to ignore Arthur, Bathilda’s owl,  and the latter dropped a letter on his desk.

_Which was perfectly fine, really, since he was over Grindelwald for good now._

Or was he?

Albus paced back and forth across his room as he considered the pros and cons of opening said letter.

Bathilda’s owl waited upon him to see if he would send a reply back, but he waved it away.

After another solid two hours of pacing, he finally made a decision.

He sighed.

This probably wasn’t a good idea.

_In fact, this wasn’t a good idea…_

But he opened the letter anyway and immediately felt disappointment in the pit of his stomach as he realized this was Bathilda’s handwriting on the envelope and not Gel-Grindelwald’s (which was ridiculous, _obviously,_ because he was over his ex and perfectly fine by now).

He slowly unfolded the tightly closed piece of parchment and read it at once:

_Albus,_

_You boys really are as bad as each other._

_When will you come over and meet your daughter? I dare say this is high time you did so, don’t you think?_

_-Bathilda_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DRAMA INTENSIFIES!!! What do you think will happen next?


	3. Gretchen Grindelwald

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus gets to meet his daughter for the first time, all thanks to dear old Tante Hilda…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, English is not my first language.
> 
> Thank you so much for all the positive feedback :D

Albus reads Bathilda’s letter three more times just to be sure he isn’t hallucinating anything (and still, after his fourth and fifth read he’s not sure what to make of it).

High time to meet his daughter?

What daughter?!

He had never slept with a woman in his life. In fact, he had never even slept with anyone except with Bathilda’s good for nothing great-nephew Gel-Grindelwald and last time he checked, Gellert was _all_ male.

So how in Merlin’s name could he have a daughter?

Surely, Bathilda, whom he trusted and held in high esteem, had lost her marbles.

This was the only logical explanation he could think of (if being logical was a possibility here).

After all, the kind old lady had always been a bit funny.

Although she had never been _that_ off…

This surely was a trick in order to get him back to her place, so he and Gellert would talk things out.

After all, Bathilda had been the one who had caused them to meet in the first place.

He groaned loudly.

This was really frustrating. Here he was, finally getting things done and finally getting on with his life after eight months of being in a bad place and now this?!

What was he supposed to do?

Should he pay his neighbor a visit or keep on working on his article?

***

Bathilda Bagshot had a smug look on her face as she prepared some tea. _Very strong tea._

She was just done pouring it in three of her favorite cups ( ah, such lovely porcelain cups), when Albus, who looked as white as a sheet, knocked on her door.

She hummed as she went to answer it.

Today was the day her boys would end their ridiculous argument and she couldn’t be happier about it.

Those two were soulmates after all…

‟Ah, Albus, I was expecting you,” she simply said as Albus stepped inside.

His face was still very white, with some of his freckles sticking out. The poor dear clearly seemed extremely worked up by all of this.

‟I’m sorry professor, but what exactly is going on?” The redhead waved a piece of parchment in front of Bathilda’s face. ‟I don’t understand what you are saying in your letter. ”

‟Well,I’m only stating the truth, dear. Your daughter is already two weeks old. It’s a shame you are missing out on her. She’s so precious.”

Albus, who usually was such a polite guest, was at a loss for words and had a weird expression on his face. ‟But-”

‟No buts young man.” She handed him one of the cups and grabbed the other two as she turned around and made her way up to her study.

Albus seemed a bit dumbstruck, but one of Bathilda's legendary glare in his direction convinced him to follow her to her study.

Of course, she didn’t bother to knock before she pushed the door open.

As she had expected him to be, Gellert was laid back in one of her chair, a big dusty book levitating in front of him with Gretchen safely tucked between his coat and his shirt.

Bathilda shook her head with disapproval at her great-nephew. ‟Ah, _Gellert,_ no wonder she fusses so much when you put her back in her cradle. You are spoiling her.”

Gellert cursed in German as his book fell and he abruptly stood up. It seemed he had just spotted Albus, who now really was wondering why he had followed Bathilda up here in the first place.‟What is _he_ doing here?”

Gretchen protested about being moved so quickly and began to stir, which added to Gellert’s already very clear discontent.

‟I’ve invited him over, as I’ve told you I would if you didn’t talk to him in the first placs.”Bathilda placed the tea cups on her desk and moved to allow some room for Albus to step forward-which he seemed pretty hesitant to do.‟Here, hand her over to Albus so he can see her properly.”

Gellert seemed pretty doubtful about handing Gretchen to his ex.

Bathilda made an annoyed noise with her tongue.‟We don’t have all day and I need to work on my book.”

Gellert glared at Albus, before he carefully handed his daugh-their daughter over.

‟You need to hold her head and she prefers to be on the left side.” Gellert’s eyes were throwing daggers at Albus.

***

The redhead hesitated before he took- very clumsily- the baby in his arms.

Merlin, this was all so weird!

Here he was, holding his ex’s baby in his arms in his former teacher’s study.

The universe clearly had something against him…

Gellert sat back in his chair and crossed his arms as Bathilda took a sip of her tea.

Albus blinked twice as he wondered what he should do next, before he decided to look at the baby…

And he had to admit Gellert had a cute baby.

Which wasn’t surprising at all seeing that Gellert was a beautiful man himself.

Not that Albus cared anymore, but still…

Bathilda was beaming as she decided to break the tensed silence in the room.‟ See, this wasn’t so bad, wasn’t it Gellert?”

The blonde ignored his aunt’s comment and quirked an eyebrow at his ex. He seemed to be waiting for a reaction from his part.

Albus cleared his throat. ‟Well, I guess I’ll need to congratulate you on your fatherhood.” Another awkward silence. ‟And may I ask where is her mother?”

‟You can be pretty dense for being top of your class Dumbledore. As my aunt has already told you, Gretchen is yours.”

Albus’ s eyes grew wide.‟No, she’s not mine. I can assure you that-”

Gellert groaned. ‟Look at her hair.”

Albus hesitated before he carefully removed the cap that was on the baby’s head. Her hair were indeed exactly the same color as his.

‟Well this means nothing except that you clearly have a preference for redheads.”

Gellert glanced at his aunt.‟I’ve told you this was stupid.”

Bathilda shrugged as a simple answer.

Albus’s cheeks reddened as he too glared at Gellert. He has had enough of this stupid game.‟Well, you can’t be mad at me for wondering what exactly is going on? I’ve never heard of two men having a baby.”

‟Don’t you think I wasn’t surprised when I discovered I had this lump-like shape on my left side and that when I pushed on it, it kicked me back?!”

Bathilda nodded in the background as she kept on sipping her tea.

Albus frowned.‟Are you that desperate that you are inventing lies just to get back with me after you’ve had a kid with someone else?”

‟You are infuriating Dumbledore. Always doubting, always asking stupid questions.” Gellert swiftly untied his belt, and slightly pulled his pants down to show his ex his left side.

Albus blushes a bit at the sight.

There is indeed a line there; a new scar Albus has never seen before – and Merlin, had he studied pretty closely that area of Gellert’s body with his eyes, his hands and his tongue last summer.

‟This is where she came out,” Gellert states as he quickly readjusts his clothes.‟I don’t know what else to say or do in order to convince you.”

‟Well, I don’t know how you will either. ” Albus concludes as he tries to give the baby back to his ex, since she is beginning to move and he’s panicking a bit because he has no idea of what he is supposed to do with her.

‟You should check behind her right knee,” chimes in Bathilda who still sips her tea in the background as if what is happening right now is all normal.‟ She has a magical birthmark. What is curious about it is that it is a very dark shade of red.” She takes another sip before she goes on.‟ Gellert calls her his little phoenix because of it.”

Albus’s face goes white. He doesn’t have to look at the mark to know what Bathilda is referring to.   

 _He has the exact same mark at the exact same spot._  

There is a legend in his family about a phoenix that will come to the help of a Dumbledore in need and his mother had always teased her oldest about it stating it would probably be him because of said birthmark. 

Bathilda smiles and has a knowing look on her face as she gets up.‟I’ll go and make us some more tea, shall I?” 

Albus remains silent as she walks out of the room and Gellert sits back down on his chair and moodily stares out of the window. 

Albus clearly seems lost in thoughts.  

Gretchen stirs some more in his arms.

He looks at her and it finally hits him.

He can finally see himself in her. 

The shape of her nose and the curve of her lips are his. And so are her thick auburn hair. 

Her eyelashes are long, curvy, full and black like Gellert’s and as she opens her eyes to stare at him with curiosity, he sees at once she inherited Gellert’s heterochromia. One of her eye is of a whitish blue while the other is hazelnut. 

She is indeed a perfect mix of them both and his heart flutters. 

 


	4. Trying to find a logical explanation where there is none

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus wonders how he and Gellert managed to conceive a child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for all the comments and the kudos! :D I’m thrilled by the interest this story is getting.  
> This chapter is the longest one yet :D  
> Sorry if there are any mistakes Xxx

Gretchen studied Albus’s face for some time before she yawned (which probably was the cutest thing Albus had ever seen in his life so far) and went back to sleep.

The auburn haired man hadn't even been holding his daughter for 5 minutes still, yet,without any doubt, Gretchen already has him wrapped around her little finger.

‟But how? How in Merlin’s name did we manage to create life?”

Gellert, whose expression seems more neutral now, shrugged.‟I’ve spent the last few months or so looking for an answer to this question and I haven’t found an answer to this so far. ”

Albus shook his head with disbelief.

It’s safe to say he has never heard of anything remotely close to this either.

Last summer, he and Gellert had vowed to each other that they would do great things together, but he had never imagined they would do something as grand as conceiving a child.

Gellert retrieved his book that had fell on the ground earlier and resumed his reading as he sat more comfortably in his chair. He crossed his legs. ‟Tante Hilda thinks it might have something to do with our blood pact.”

An awkward silence.

‟So you told her about-”Albus blushed and cleared his throat. ‟Everything that went on when we did the pact and ehm… afterwards?”

Albus blushed further more at the news, his face getting redder by the second as the memories of said night flooded his mind.

They did the pact on the last day of July, barely four weeks after their first meeting.

It was an incredibly hot and humid day and they had both decided to hide in a barn to do the dark ritual.

The whole situation had felt both forbidden and exhilarating to them. It was strong, ancient and powerful magic they had decided to deal with.

It certainly was not the kind of magic a sixteen years old and an eighteen years old were supposed to play with.

With this ritual, the two would be bound for life.

The sun was setting when they finished the blood pact and Gellert placed their pendant around his neck.

The mark on their palm was pounding and felt as hot as the blood that was running in their veins.

They were full of lust and love for each other.

The night was calm and warm, the moon was full and their usual spot next to the pond had been extremely inviting as they had walked past it.

There was no way they could go on with their evening routine as if nothing special had happened during the afternoon.

After they had exchanged a few heated kisses on the grass, the two had rapidly gotten rid of their clothes and had decided to consummate the passion that was eating them on the spot.

They had made love twice that night. Each of them had possessed the other and they had then kissed and cuddled under the stars until the sun had been shining so brightly on them the next morning they couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Aberforth had been extremely pissed by Albus’s disappearance and his suspicions only grew from then on, which had ended with that wretched day of August where the duel had occurred.

Gellert waggled his eyebrows. ‟ _Well,_ Bathilda is old, but she’s not stupid. She already knew we were doing more than just studying books and planning our trip locked in my room. ”

‟Merlin.”Albus felt light-headed.

‟Let’s be honest, Gretchen is a rather tangible proof we shagged too,” Gellert flashed him a grin. The first one since they had parted ways last August (if parted was the right term here).

‟And you aren’t as good as you think you might be at silencing charms either boys,”added Bathilda as she came back in her study. ‟I’ll let you two talk some more, but I’ve brought a bottle for our little angel here, some more tea and some cauldron cakes just in case one of you was hungry. ”

Gellert vehemently shook his head. ‟That’s kind of you Tante Hilda, but Dumbledore was just about to-”

He didn’t have the chance to finish his sentence before his aunt had walked out of the room, humming loudly as she closed the door behind her.

Albus cleared his throat and tried to think about what he should say next.

Should they continue to talk about Gretchen or should they talk about the three-way duel?

As if on cue, Gretchen woke up at once and began to cry. At first, it sounded a bit like a cat that asked for food, but it soon grew out of proportions and Albus panicked.

He was used to always know his way around everything, but now he was in unknown territories. He had never had to take care of a young child by himself, let alone a newborn.

Gretchen kept screaming as her little face grew an angry shade of red.

It was surprising, really, how loud this little thing could be.

‟Hand her over,” said Gellert, already with the bottle in his hands as Albus gladly did so.

He looked at his ex with curiosity as the latter sat back down with Gretchen who had already avidly began to drink her bottle.

‟It’s boiled goat’s milk with special herbs in it.” Gellert placed the bottle back on Bathilda’s desk and paused Gretchen’s drinking to make her burp.

Albus was dazzled by all of this. Gellert really seemed like an expert.

Albus laughed nervously. ‟I guess I’ll have a lot to learn in order to take care of her.”

Gellert shrugged. ‟You won’t need to. Your name doesn’t appear on any of Gretchen’s legal documents. I had no intentions of telling you all of this anyway, but my aunt insisted on it. As soon as my magic will be back to it’s full potential, we’ll be gone and you won’t hear from us ever again.”

‟Oh.” Albus’s heart sank. ‟I see.” He slowly turned around and glanced outside.

***

After the horrible three-way duel, Gellert had fled from the Dumbledore’s house as fast as he could. He wasn’t sure if Ariana was dead or injured, but he didn’t  really care at this point.

Yes, he had overreacted, but Albus had a strong hold on his heart and he hadn’t been able to do anything else than to loose it when the latter had decided to side with his brother when a choice had to be made.

Aberforth, that idiot, had won. All he had wanted during all summer was to get them apart and he had finally succeeded.

All Gellert and Albus had done during the summer : their talks about the Greater Good, Albus saying they would leave Godric’s Hollow together to search for the Deathly Hallows, all those hours they had spent conversing… All of this wasn’t as important to Albus as his siblings and his stupid responsibilities.

As soon as he had reached his aunt’s house, Gellert  had felt stupid, oh, so stupid and he had felt pain like he had never felt before.

He was shaking as he had opened the door and had gone upstairs to grab his things in order to leave. His aunt, worried, had come to see him, but hadn’t stopped him from what he was doing-which had been for the best.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to yell or to throw up; to destroy things or to weep.

His heart was crushed.

He had never been one to grow close to people. People loved him, but he usually didn’t loved them back in return.

He had learned at a young age to fend off for himself and to trust no one.

His mother had died in childbirth and his father had always been cold and distant.

As soon as he had been able to read, learning and studying had been what he had thrown himself into with an unhealthy passion.

Until he had met Albus Dumbledore, that is.

In Albus, he had found his equal. The two were of the same mind. Both were excessively intelligent and misunderstood. Together, they were perfect.

Unstoppable.

But Albus also had something that warmed him up to his very core and brought out a side of him he had never even knew existed.

Gellert had never really been romantically attracted to anyone before, but when Albus had began to stare at him  in a certain way, he had begun to wonder what was going on.

When Albus had kissed him for the first time next to the pond, he had realized what exactly was happening with his companion.

And had internally mocked him a bit. Love was for the weak.

Kissing wasn’t as overrated as Gellert thought it was though.

In fact, it had turned out to be far more pleasant than he had expected it to be in the first place.

The two had continued to share their thoughts and had kissed here and there during the next few days.

As the days passed, their impromptu make out sessions occurred more and more frequently and their hands began to roam under shirts and seemed to want to go lower too as if they had their own will.

At that point, Gellert wasn’t sure of what he was feeling for Albus Dumbledore.

All he was sure of was that he wanted more…

Naturally, they took the next step barely a week after their first kiss.

And it was quite the revelation. Gellert finally understood what love was. He too loved Albus. Their love wasn’t exactly the same, but love it absolutely was.

This was all powerful, beautiful and exhilarating.

The blood pact they had made had then sealed everything.

They would forever be together, two bodies with the same mind; the same soul.

Every day was like a dream come true and there weren’t enough hours in the day or in the night to do all the things they wanted to do together.

Luckily, they had their whole life to be together and to achieve everything they wanted to.

Yet, everything had ended as abruptly as it had started.

Gellert had taken the first portkey back to London and from there, had fled to Prague.

Godric’s Hollow was behind him and he had sworn he would never get back there.

Yet, here he was with Gretchen, a baby he had conceived with the man he thought was the love of his life.

Life could be cruel sometimes.

But he wouldn’t be fooled a second time…

He was still lost in his thoughts when Gretchen finished her bottle and pushed it away with her tiny clumsy hands.

She seemed happy and stared at him with attention. He had forgotten Albus was still in the room until the later coughed politely in the background.

‟I guess I’ll go back home and try to work on my article,” the latter said before he sighed quite audibly, avoided his ex's stare, turned around and softly closed the door behind him as he left.

Gellert kissed his daughter on the head and held her more closely. Albus was wrong if he thought  he had forgotten about that night.

The most important thing in his life right now was Gretchen and as long as he had her he didn’t need anything or anyone else.

***

It had already been three days since that strange afternoon where Albus had learned of his fatherhood and since then he had decided he would spend as much time as he could at Bathilda’s house.

To hell with his article.

Gellert hadn’t left yet and he wondered if somehow the two of them could get back together.

Albus cursed himself for it, but he still yearned for his ex.

Whatever he had tried to believe, he certainly wasn’t over him. On the contrary, seeing him with Gretchen made him see a whole new side of Gellert he had never imagined existed and it was making his heart beat faster.

Bathilda seemed very pleased to see him every day and she gladly invented various pretexts to leave them alone in one room or another.

Sometimes, Albus held Gretchen (who didn’t seem too opposed to it) during the afternoon. He had  also learned how to give her the bottle properly, which wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be.

He hadn’t really exchanged words with Gellert yet though.

The two were focused on finding out information about Gretchen’s existence and were back to searching in silence in dusty books; something they both enjoyed.

Rain had started to fall during one of those research sessions and Gellert had groaned with annoyance at the stupid British weather and had offered Albus to come upstairs in his room so his aunt (who kept getting in the room and loudly exclaimed she had urgent things to do) could get back to work on her book in peace.

It was now way past his usual visiting hours, yet the rain was still falling and didn’t show any signs of stopping.

Truth be told, Albus had no real reason of remaining there.

Rain had never killed anyone. He could easily disapparate back to his place or use a water-repelling spell or even go outside with an umbrella, yet here he still was, sat on the edge of Gellert’s bed with a book open in his lap while his ex was pacing around the room with another one.

So far they hadn’t really found anything about pregnancies occurring in male individuals and it was quite puzzling.

Gretchen was tightly wrapped in her blanket and was sleeping in her cradle and the whole scene felt lovely and familiar to Albus.

He tried not to stare as Gellert took his coat, his boots, his socks and his pants off before he crawled under the sheets of his bed.

The same bed Albus was currently sitting on...

The blonde checked the cradle one last time to see if Gretchen was still doing okay, before he continued to study his book as he rested on his left side.

Albus was now wondering if he should stay or go. 

He decided to stay some more and tried to stay focused on his book. 

It was pretty hard not to stare though.  Gellert was leaning on his left arm, his blonde curls spread on his pillow with a good part of his lovely neck on display.

Albus licked his lips.

He was an idiot.

Oh, how he had made fun of his fellow Gryffindors who were obsessed with girls, yet here he was doing the exact same thing with his ex.

He sighed and went back to work.

After a short while, Gellert stretched, yawned and placed his book down. ‟I think I’m going to turn in.”

Albus quirked an eyebrow at him. ‟What happened to the boy who used to spend his nights searching for answers? What happened to your thirst for knowledge?”

‟Well, said boy has had to wake up every three hours to feed his daughter for the last two weeks. I can assure you it would quench your thirst for knowledge as well if you had had to do the same.” He yawned once more.‟ Good night Al.”

As soon as Gellert had laid his head down on his pillow, he fell asleep.

Well at least it seemed they were back to calling each other by their first name or by a shortened version of it, which certainly was a step in the good direction.

Or so Albus thought.

He stayed there for a while and tried to focus on his book some more (at least he tried to) while all he could hear in the room was the steady breathing of both Gretchen and Gellert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wellllll, Gellert is still angry (after all he has quite a temper) but those two will eventually work everything out…


	5. Bathilda and her perfect plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bathilda tries to get her boys back together.
> 
> Will she finally succeed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thank you so much for all the kudos, the comments and the bookmarks. This is amazing! 
> 
> This chapter is now officially the longest XD
> 
> As always, English is not first language Xxx

As Gellert woke up the next morning feeling well-rested for once, the first thing he thought of was that it was amazing that Gretchen had slept through the night.

Then, he panicked, abruptly got up, stumbled towards the cradle and checked if his daughter had suddenly died during the night.

He stared at her and in his panicked state, almost grabbed her to check if she was doing fine, realized she in fact was still breathing, cursed himself for being such an idiot and came back to bed.

Which is when he realized his ex had never left last night and was still sound asleep in a weird position (probably so as not to touch him during the night) on top of the covers, with a book still open on his chest.

Three empty bottles were placed on the bedside table, which probably explained why he had the impression Gretchen had slept through the night.

Dumbledore had probably fed her every three hours or so.

Gellert sighed.  His ex had always been way too kind for his own good.

He tossed a blanket over Dumbledore before he sat down at his desk with a new book.

The greatest thing about living with Bathilda (if you put aside the fact she cooked well and did all the laundry), was that the old lady owned a very impressive and very eclectic collection of books due to the nature of her work.

Of course, she had nothing on male pregnancies (which would have been far too easy), but she owned a couple of obscure looking books on various medical problems.

He was studying a very nasty looking picture of a scorched foot, when Gretchen began to stir.

He reached her cradle before she began to cry. She was moving around and frowning as he picked her up and realized she needed to be changed.

Gellert decided to do so on the floor so as not to disturb Albus, but Gretchen did not seem to appreciate being placed down on the hard floor and began to cry at once, which woke Albus up in the end anyway.

The latter’s auburn hair was sticking up and he looked absolutely knackered. He squinted in Gellert’s direction.

‟Merlin, I don’t know how you’ve managed to do this every night. She kept waking up and crying and when she wasn’t, she was making various sounds. I think I’ve woken up about twenty times at least.” He shook his head.

‟I  usually sleep through most of it. You are quite the sight this morning.” Gellert laughed.‟You look as though we’ve s-.” Gellert paused mid-sentence and focused on getting Gretchen fully dressed instead.

Albus, who knew perfectly well what his ex was about to say, blushed, cleared his throat and picked the book he had been reading last night in order to change the topic.

‟I’ve found something around three this morning. It is mentioned in here that two wizards conceived a child together in the late 16th century.”He showed the page he had bookmarked to Gellert.‟ There weren’t any mentions of how it had happened though.”

‟Well, this is nothing new. We already knew it had already happened to others, because they were aware of it existing in Prague.” Gellert shrugged.‟I think Tante Hilda might have a point with the blood pact though. I’ll go and have a look in Knockturn Alley this afternoon.”

Gretchen was now fully clothed. She was intently looking at everything in the room and Albus was amazed by how cute she looked.

He was about to suggest they could go together and maybe grab a bite in Diagon Alley, when Gellert seemed to remember they still technically weren’t supposed to be on friendly terms. He seemed to shut down and quirked an eyebrow at Albus.‟You should probably head back home. Your siblings must be wondering where you are,” he said coldly as he got up with Gretchen in his arms.

‟My brother is at Hogwarts until mid-June.”

Gellert rolled his eyes. Aberforth really wasn’t his favorite. After all, the simpleton had been the one who had interfered between him and Albus and was the one who had started the duel in the first place.

Then, the question of what had happened to Ariana hung in the air.

 It was still unclear to Gellert what had happened to her during the three-way duel. Had she been hurt? Was she dead? All he knew was that there was blood everywhere when he had left in panic the Dumbledore’s residence last August.

There was another silence before Albus cleared his throat and broke it.‟ I think I’ve spent way too much time in here already.I have stuff to do at my own place.”

Gellert did not even reply as Albus left, softly closing the door behind him.

***

Knitting, Albus thought, was a great way to clear one’s mind and would probably help him get his mind off of a certain blonde.

He decided to head out during the afternoon to get some nicely colored wool from one of the next town’s shop. He wanted to knit something for his daughter who, so far, seemed to always be dressed in black or in very dark colors, which wasn’t surprising, really, since Gellert had been the one who had taken care of her so far.

Black suited him and fitted his lanky figure very well (probably too well even), but it wasn’t the case for their three weeks old baby girl.

Upon his arrival in the shop, he selected a nice bright yellow and some purple too, as he began to think about what pattern he would like to do first.

Should he do a blanket? A tiny jumper? A cute hat?

So many choices and yet, so little time. He wasn’t even sure Gellert would still be there by the end of the month…

The latter was still rather distant and very cold and they still hadn’t managed to breach the subject of the three-way duel; a subject the two had skillfully avoided so far.

As Albus left the store with his newly bought wool in a bag, he saw a group of ladies was surrounding a pram in front of the General Store.

It was probably one of the muggle girls from a nearby village who had had a baby and was proudly showing it off for the first time to her neighbors.

He smiled as one of the ladies cooed loudly over the newborn and his heart swelled with pride when he spotted Bathilda among the group because it probably meant it was his daughter everyone was doting on.

He also had to admit he was feeling rather relieved Gellert hadn’t brought Gretchen with him on his trip to Knockturn alley.

It seemed his ex had grown slightly less reckless since he had become a father.

‟She’s my great-nephew’s.” Albus heard Bathilda answer as he joined the group and looked at Gretchen, who was staring at everyone with her beautiful mismatched eyes.

One of the ladies nodded.‟Ah yes, the tall handsome blonde from Eastern Europe?”

‟Exactly,”Bathilda replied as she spotted her neighbor and winked in his direction.‟She’s a real beauty, isn’t she Albus?”

The latter smiled.‟Indeed, she is.”

‟Her mother must be rather good looking too,”chimed in a plump little witch.

Bathilda flashed her a smile.‟Oh yes, she is quite charming.”

‟Funny how she has the same hair color as yours, Albus. ”added Merinda, a neighbor who lived close to the graveyard, with a frown. ‟When are you going to find a young witch and have babies of your own?”

Albus shrugged. ‟I guess time will tell Mrs. O’Leary.”

After a few more minutes of talking (and of showing off), Bathilda bid her farewells to everyone and let Albus push the pram on their way back home.

The historian was holding his elbow as they pleasantly talked along the way.

Gretchen seemed very curious and hadn’t even fallen asleep once as they reached Bathilda’s place.

Bathilda frowned and seemed to remember something. ‟Albus, dear, would you mind joining us for dinner tonight or else, I’m afraid my food will go to waste? You see, I’ve bought way too much of it and I’m sure Gellert would be glad to see you too.”

‟Oh, I don’t think I’ll be able to Ms. Bagshot. I’m supposed to finish my article and I’d like to get a start on my knitting.”

What Albus didn’t suspect though is that Bathilda Bagshot wasn’t one you could simply say no to.

Plus, she also had a plan.

‟Isn’t that a new waistcoat you are wearing today?” The historian lowered her voice, hit him with her bony elbow in the ribs and winked. ‟I’m sure Gellert would find you very handsome if you wore it tonight. He did say the other day green really was your color...”

Albus, visibly pleased by this information, blushed slightly before he bid her his farewells.

She waved back at him and pushed the pram towards her house.

She had no doubt Albus would come.

***

Bathilda had decided she was done with all of this nonsense and was going to take matters into her own hands.

After all, her precious little Gretchen needed both of her dads in her life and it seemed obvious that both Albus and Gellert weren’t over each other.

Bathilda had been the one who had matched them in the first place and Merlin knew she was going to be the one who would get them back together for once and for all.

She would sit in the front row at their wedding and would be on the front page of Witch Weekly one day, she was sure of it.

If she baked a special cake infused with a touch of rose thorns, powdered moonstone, Ashwinder eggs ( all common ingredients for love potions) and some of both of the boys’ hair (thinly chopped,of course), it was simply fortuitous.

‟It will be our little secret,”she stated as she glanced at her precious little Gretchen, who was resting in a basket close to her and was sucking her thumb.

She finished to prep her recipe just as Gellert, freshly back from his trip to London, emerged from the fire place with  three large books stuck under his left arm.

Bathilda turned around and smiled at him.‟ _Ah Gellert_ ,  you are just in time to taste this. Be honest. Does this need more cocoa?”

Gellert grinned at her with all of his boyish charm, dipped his finger in the batter, tasted it and pulled a weird face.‟Tante Hilda, I think there is something wrong with your cake. It tastes a bit… _seltsam_.”

Bathilda tried to look surprised (which she absolutely wasn’t), grabbed the cocoa and added a generous amount of it in the mix.

‟Here, is it better? ”

Gellert hesitantly re-tasted the mix. After a few seconds, he grinned at her, nodded and picked Gretchen up.

Bathilda watched the two leave the room as she placed her cake in the oven.

It couldn’t be anything else but good if Gellert got a head start on her _special_ cake, right?

***

The evening went down relatively well or so thought Bathilda.

She was scribbling in a corner while Gretchen was back to sleep and had been a little dear during the whole evening (as she always was), while the boys were talking about this and that and had began a game of wizard chess, something that usually took them ages to finish and often ended with a draw.

The most important thing in Bathilda’s opinion was that she had managed to feed her great-nephew two pieces of cake, and the effects of said cake where beginning to show.

Albus had only eaten half a piece, but she figured he needed less convincing.

He was wearing his green waistcoat and Gellert had even commented on it.

Gellert’s knee was pressed against Albus’s under the table and he had winked and laughed and smiled all evening long.

Yep,she thought, powdered moonstone was doing wonders…

And now, on to the final step of her plan…

She got up and tut-tutted as she began to rummage around in her notes.‟How silly of me! I can’t believe I’ve forgotten my notebook in town. I think I’ve left it on the edge of the general store’s front window.”

‟Do you want me to go and get it for you professor?” Albus stared at her with concern while Gellert looked at him intently as if he was a delicious piece of meat and he was a starved wolf who hadn’t eaten in the last three months.

Oh yes, Bathilda could see he was fully intoxicated by now…

This would be a real success.

‟If it’s not too much of a bother…” She tried to sound desperate. ‟Gellert, why don’t you go with Albus to keep him company?”

***

‟I’ll race you to the store, Dumbeldore! Last one there is declared the ultimate looser of our epic wizard chess game.” Gellert stated before he bolted off and Albus went after him.

They giggled as they pushed each other on the road and their hands bumped on various occasions.

May had rolled by and some flowers were already in bloom. The air was still a bit cold and the sun was beginning to set.

Out of breath, they stopped their race as they reached old Mr. Rosenthal’s field, their hearts pounding and their cheeks rosy from the exercise.

They had to cross between two narrow fences as a shortcut and Albus decided to go first.

He turned around to see if Gellert was following him because he couldn’t hear him breathe anymore, when the blonde pulled him by the arm and spun him around so fast they almost fell.

Gellert was looking at him with a look of pure want and Albus, as a true Gryffindor, decided to go for it, as he closed the distance between them and locked his lips with him.

Gellert avidly kissed him back.

Then, they really did tumble. Gellert backed Albus against a tree as more kisses followed.

Albus sighed as the kisses deepened and Gellert's hands began to roam. Long and agile fingers found their way under his shirt.

The redhead's heart was beating fast in his chest as Gellert’s hands decided to venture lower and lifted him up against the tree.

Albus's brain had officially stopped to function as he grasped a handful of curls and pulled Gellert in for another mind-blowing kiss.

They were in public, a muggle known as Oscar Wilde had been thrown in prison for gross indecency a few years ago, yet here Albus was, unashamedly wrapping his legs around Gellert’s waist, his head thrown back, as the blonde kissed and nibbled at his neck.

Merlin, it had been months since they had been intimate and the passion of it all was so much he was sure he was about to combust.

This felt so right too, as if something had clicked back into place and the last nine months had only been a bad dream.

He pulled on Gellert’s shirt and wondered once more why there were so many damn buttons on it. This was too much when all he wanted to do was to grasp, to touch and to stroke that creamy skin of his.

Things were going _oh_ , so perfectly well…Until a loud crash behind them startled them both.

Gellert snapped out of it and suddenly backed up as Albus ungraciously fell on the ground with a loud thud and swore loudly.

A fox stared at them with curiosity as it ran past them, one of Mr. Rosenthal’s chicken still alive between his teeth.

Talk about a way to ruin the mood.

Gellert’s shirt was missing some buttons and his hair was sticking out while Albus was pretty sure his pants were undone and his shirt was torn in the back.

‟I shouldn’t have done that.” Gellert blurted out as he avoided Albus’s stare.

Albus quirked an eyebrow at him and looked angrier by the second. His cheeks were growing a dangerous shade of red as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the tree he had been about to be properly ravished against.‟I don’t think you’ve heard me complain about it. Far from it.”

Gellert backed off even more. He was now sure something was up. His mind seemed fuzzy and he had lost his self control.

He was not going down that road. Nope, not now and not ever again.

Albus's lips were pursed and his eyes were throwing daggers even though his tone of voice remained calm.‟Yes, I still want you and I still crave your touch like a flower craves the sun.” He paused and shook his head with disbelief.  ‟I still love you, you utter git. I’ve never stopped and I probably never will, Gellert Grindelwald. You are both my blessing and my curse. Can’t you see that?”

Gellert stared at him for a good three minutes; a blank expression on his face.‟I’ll be gone by the end of the week.”

With that being said, he turned around and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cake Bathilda baked didn't contain a complete love potion, but there was enough of the ingredients that enter in its composition to enhance any feelings of love that were already there (or so I have decided : ))
> 
> There might be 9 chapters instead of 8. We shall see if the boys behave in the next one 😉
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr under the same username Xxxx


	6. Like a moth to a flame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry for the long wait everyone.
> 
> The thing is that I’ve just finished writing the last chapter of this fic (chapter 9) and I’ve started to work on a OS that will be a follow-up to this story instead of working on this chapter. 😉
> 
> As always, English is not my first language.

It was just past nine when Bathilda finally settled down with a lovely book and a simmering cup of tea. Gretchen was fast asleep next to her and all that could be heard in the house was the baby’s soft breathing and the comforting tik tok of the historian's mantel clock.

She sighed happily as she opened her book. Finally, she would spend a quiet evening at home.

Or so she thought before Albus apparated with a loud _crack_ in her living room.

The auburn haired young man gave her an apologetic look. ‟I’m sorry to startle you professor and I know this isn’t very polite of me to apparate directly into your home,  but I went to the general store and your notebook was nowhere to be found.”

Bathilda frowned before she remembered the lie she had told the boys earlier this evening and quickly checked around the room to be sure that her notebook was well hidden under a thick stack of paper.

‟Albus, dear, why did you come back so early?”

She hadn’t expected any of the two boys to be back at her place so soon.

In fact, she had been pretty sure the two would have gone to Albus’s house to rekindle their flame and wouldn’t be back, at least, before noon the next day.

She carefully placed her tea cup on her desk and frowned some more. ‟And where in Merlin’s name is Gellert?”

Albus shrugged and let out an annoyed sigh as Bathilda angrily got up.

How did her stupid great-nephew dare to interfere with her incredible match-making abilities?

There was no doubt about it, Gellert’s stubbornness definitively came from his father’s side. The Bagshots were way more sensible people.

The next time she would see him, she would wring his neck.

Unless the little idiot was going to run away once more before she found him…Which was highly possible.

Albus glanced at the old woman with curiosity as she quickly tried to come up with a new plan.

Match-making was way more difficult than she remembered it to be.

‟Now that I think about it, I think I might have left my notebook by the fountain in front of the town hall.” Yes, she was going to go on with the lost notebook idea.‟ Albus, can you be a dear and bring Gretchen with you to your house? I might be out for a few hours and I don’t want to bring her outside this late in the evening.”

Albus opened his mouth and was probably going to reply he could go himself, before she glared at him and he simply nodded.

‟You won’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll pack all of the necessary stuff for you,” she added as she waved her wand around and multiple bottles, a blanket, diapers and new baby clothes engulfed themselves in a tiny beady bag.

The historian frowned as she tried to remember if she was forgetting something before she finally accioed one of Gellert’s dirty shirt from her laundry pile.

Albus quirked an eyebrow at said shirt. Was he supposed to wash his ex’s clothes too while he was taking care of their child?

He was absolutely pants at domestic charms and honestly, at this stage of their relationship, he would rather burn it down than wash it.

Bathilda winked at him.‟ You’ll need the shirt if Gretchen throws a tantrum. You’ll see how this simple trick works wonders.”

And with that being said, the old lady was out of the house before Albus even had the time to ask her what he was supposed to do exactly with that shirt.

***

As soon as he apparated back to his room at his aunt’s place, Gellert began to pack his few belongings.

He needed to leave Godric’s Hollow and the sooner would be the better.

Waiting a week before leaving was impossible to think of now.

He would need to take a portkey as soon as Gretchen would wake up the next morning, or else, he was afraid there would be a repeat of last year’s summer and he really couldn’t afford wasting his precious time with Albus instead of pursuing his quest a second time.

Truth be told, Albus was supposed to help him find the hallows last year, but the only thing the other boy had managed to do was to somehow impregnate him which hadn’t helped at all.

Well, Dumbledore could be damned.

Gellert closed his eyes as he felt the beginning of a throbbing headache behind his eyelids. His mind seemed a bit blurry tonight and it was most peculiar.

He really was feeling as though something was off with himself.

How stupid of him to have kissed Albus against that tree earlier this evening...

How dared the latter look so handsome with his green waistcoat and his auburn hair?

His pale blue eyes and his ink stained wrists...

And his lips? Slightly chapped and highly kissable…

And his intoxicating smell : a curious mix of magic, dusty books, sweets and parchment...

Oh, and that trail of freckles, perfectly lickable that began under his chin and went all the way down to his…

Gellert shook his head.

He really needed to focus on his packing.

After all, he still had a world to change and to conquer for the Greater Good.

***

That evening, Albus discovered for the second time in his life that not everything could be learned by simply reading books.

For example, changing a diaper was supposed to be fairly easy according to _Witch Weekly’s fantastic charms for the expecting witch_ ,  but it turned out NOT to be the case when Gretchen kicked into the dirty diaper he was about to throw away and managed to pee on the floor while he was still trying to figure out how to tie the wretched thing in the first place.

Luckily, he was a wizard and had cleaned the whole mess with a simple scourgify.

Then, he had proceeded to feed his daughter and he was now fairly sure the rest of his evening was going to be a breeze.

He placed Gretchen in her cradle (which he had brought along after leaving Bathilda’s place) and the newborn quickly fell asleep.

He had then prepared some bottles for the night and had placed a faint glacius charm on them to keep them at the right temperature.

He had then swept the house and had madly began to knit a blanket for his daughter.

In fact, he had done anything he could think of to keep his mind busy and not to linger on Gellert’s kisses, his fantastic tongue and his fabulous hands who could ignite a fire in him with the lightest of touch.

He was still busy not thinking about how said hands had ended up on his arse earlier this evening when Gretchen began to wail once more.

In fact, crying as though her life depended on it was a more correct term in this case.

Gretchen had been fed, her diaper was clean, she wasn’t warm nor cold, yet she kept on crying even though he paced the room as he held  her tightly in his arms.

Of course, even though he flipped through his entire book he found nothing else to do to solve the matter.

Well, except to sing her a lullaby, but it also failed as Gretchen still cried and cried and cried…

Thirty minutes into the tantrum, he remembered the shirt Bathilda had placed in the beady bag.

He quickly placed Gretchen on his bed next to him and carefully wrapped her in the shirt.

He was pretty doubtful at first but he was a desperate and inexperienced new father after all.

Miraculously, Gretchen calmed down and eventually dozed off in a matter of minutes.

As she was sleeping peacefully, Albus carefully studied said shirt.

Was it charmed?

Hum...It didn’t seem like it.

In fact, there was nothing special about it except it’s smell.

A mix of grass, sun, magic and spice…

In fact, it simply smelled of Gellert.

Feeling slightly pathetic, Albus casted a couple of spells so as not to hurt Gretchen during the night and lay down close to her, falling asleep as he inhaled her scent and the shirt's.

***

It was weird, Gellert thought, first thing in the morning for a second day in a row, that he hadn’t heard his daughter even once during the night.

He swiftly got up and tip-toed to his aunt’s room. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside to see if the cradle was in there.

Except his aunt who was still fast asleep and snoring, there was nothing else in sight.

His heart dropped as realization dawned on him.

The cunning old witch knew him way too well.

Of course Gretchen was at Albus’s place…

***

Gellert didn’t even bother to knock or to even seem civil when he apparated directly in Albus’s bedroom.

The latter was still fast asleep with Gretchen, the two of them nestled together in Albus’s bed.

The blonde stared at them a good five minutes, a blank expression on his face, before Albus woke up and stared back at him.

He didn’t really seem surprised to see Gellert in his room in the first place and simply quirked an eyebrow at him.

Gellert quirked an eyebrow back at him.‟What exactly are you doing with MY baby?”

Albus sat in his bed and crossed his arms over his chest, pushing his big fuzzy purple blanket out of the way while doing so.‟Well, I’ve got news for you : she’s not yours, she is ours!”

‟Feeling sentimental this morning, _Dumbledore_?” Gellert snorted. ‟I’ve already packed my things and I just need Gretchen to leave.”

‟Oh, so you are going to run away again are you? How very brave of you!”Albus stood up and glared at him.

‟Says the stupid Gryffindor who backed down on me last summer.”Gellert sneered. ‟You are such a coward Albus.”

‟That’s very rich coming from  the one who used an Unforgivable on my brother and then fled,”Albus replied with a mocking tone.

‟Because the idiot wanted to take you away from me! I also thought Ariana was dead because of that stupid rebound!”

Albus’s expression softened a bit, before his stare grew dark again. ‟Well, she was badly injured and almost died because of it.  She has been living with my aunt ever since then.”

Gellert let out the breath he was unconsciously holding as he avoided Albus’s intense stare.

‟Feeling sentimental this morning, _Grindelwald_?”Albus said as he got up and stared back at him.

The blonde shook his head.‟ _Oh,_ how I hate you Albus Dumbledore. You told me yesterday I was both your blessing and your curse…Well you are exactly the same to me!”

‟Good. I’m glad we both agree on this. Now, stop running from me.” Albus’s voice was firm and his cheeks were flushed as he stepped forward.

The latter wasn’t a force to reckon with when he was angry or agitated.

And now, if Gellert read him well, he was a dangerous mix of both.

‟I-”Gellert began, but he had nothing else to say as he slowly took a step back and Albus took two steps forward, getting dangerously close to him.

The tension in the room was palpable.

Another kiss was going to prove fatal to his cause, Gellert thought. He would never leave if Albus was his once more.

He felt like a trapped animal...

Yet deep down, he wanted to be caught…

Gellert bumped into a piece of furniture as he took another step back and briefly turned around to see what it was. As he did so, he quickly glanced outside by the room’s tiny window before he stared back at Albus, who was now barely three inches from him.

His heart was beating loudly in his chest when something clicked into his mind and he turned around to stare back outside once more. He cursed so loudly in German it woke Gretchen up.

There, standing on his aunt’s front porch were a witch and a wizard.

Gellert knew who those two were.  They worked for that wretched place in Prague.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooooh drama. At least Grindeldore is making some progress, right?😉
> 
> Swaddling a newborn in one of it’s mother’s unwashed shirt really does work in soothing them:D Since Gellert was the one who was pregnant with Gretchen and who took care of her from birth, it makes perfect sense it would work with his stuff.


	7. How to be a good housewitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our (poor) boys are forced to live together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired because this chapter is the longest one I’ve EVER written :D
> 
> A big thanks to everyone who took the time to comment or who left kudos on my work. Xxx I love to read what you think of this story :D

Of course, Gretchen, startled by her father’s sudden outburst woke up with a start and began to cry once more.

Albus sighed loudly and looked daggers at his ex. ‟Merlin’s pants! Why must you act like such an idiot all of a sudden?”

Gellert rolled his eyes, quickly pulled the drapes in front of the window as though to hide them from view (from whom, it was a mystery), roughly pushed Albus aside and fetched Gretchen from the bed where she was still resting.

The blonde immediately began to soothe her with his voice and Gretchen calmed down almost instantly.

Gellert then turned his attention back to Albus. He had a curious expression on his face.‟Is the door locked downstairs? Are there any opened windows on the second floor?”

The redhead frowned at him.‟What exactly are you going on about?”

‟Look outside and check who is on my aunt’s front porch.”

Albus stared at him with disbelief but did as he was told.

***

Bathilda had just finished to eat her breakfast when she heard a faint knock on her door.

She checked by her window to see who it might be at this hour.

Since she lived far from the center of town, getting visitors was a rather rare occurrence.

Still, there, on her porch, stood a man in his thirties and a small blond woman who seemed to be around the same age.

The historian hesitated at first but went to get the door anyway.

‟We are sorry to bother you, but are you per chance Mrs. Bathilda Bagshot?”asked the man as soon as the door was opened.

He had an impressive mustache that hid a good part of his face and was speaking with a very thick accent.

It was obvious he wasn’t from around these parts.

Bathilda frowned. ‟It’s Ms. Bagshot. ”

‟At last, we have finally found you Ms. Bagshot!”, exclaimed the woman warmly before she went on. ‟Can we please come in?”

The historian couldn't say why, but something seemed fishy about those two…

As her two unexpected guests stepped in, Bathilda checked left and right before she closed the door.

‟Your place looks lovely,”politely said the blonde before she sat on the settee and Bathilda sat across from her in her favorite armchair.

The historian cleared her throat.‟I’m sorry. It seems I’ve just ran out of tea.” This was a complete lie, but she wasn’t going to offer them food when she didn’t know their intent still.

Her mother was probably rolling in her grave because of her impoliteness right now…

Bathilda exchanged some idle chitchat with the woman while the man walked around the room and looked at various pictures that were placed on the walls.

The man clearly was looking for something and the old lady was at a loss as to what.

‟I’ll go straight to the point, Ms. Bagshot. My husband and I were wondering if by any chance you had seen your great-nephew Gellert Grindelwald lately?”

Bathilda kept an eye on the man, who was still walking around the room and internally congratulated herself on sending Gretchen and Gellert over to Albus’s place.

‟Sadly, I can’t say that I have. Not since last summer. I’ve heard via my niece he is in Paris right now.”

‟You see-” The woman continued, as she began to sob and the man sat next to her and began to pat her on the back. ‟He stole our precious daughter from us and we desperately want to get her back.”

What a blatant lie!

Bathilda had to use every ounce of self control she possessed not to hex any of the two.

It was obvious for anyone who had seen Gretchen that the little girl was the perfect combination of both Albus and Gellert’s good genes.

Really, the impudence of those two…

‟I’m very sorry to hear that.” Bathilda paused. ‟Although I wonder why my seventeen year old nephew would steal a baby.”

The woman sobbed some more before she loudly blew her nose in a handkerchief her ′husband′ had  handed her. ‟I assure you, he did. As you must know, our daughter is very dear to us. Needless to say we are willing to do _anything_ to get her back.”

Bathilda cleared her throat and quirked an eyebrow at them.‟And have you hired aurors to work on the case?”

Of course Bathilda knew they hadn’t, but she asked the question anyway, curious to know what lies they would come up with.

It was the man’s turn to answer while the woman wailed some more in the background.‟ I can’t tell you everything, but we have some problems with the ministry of magic. We would like to get our daughter back by our own, if that is possible.”

‟I see.” Never in a thousand years would Bathilda help those two criminals. Now that she knew those two had the intent to steal her precious little Gretchen, she couldn’t stand them anymore. She hastily got up wanting nothing more than to put an end to this unpleasant conversation. ‟ If you’ll excuse-me, I’ve just seen what time it is and I must be in London in about half an hour.”

She firmly ushered them to the door, shook their hands, patted the poor young woman on the back, took the business card they were handing her and closed the door behind them.

She then grabbed a piece of parchment and quickly wrote a note to her great-nephew.

***

‟I wonder what they are telling your aunt right now. It’s taking them an awful lot of time. Do you reckon we should go and check if everything is alright?”

Gellert shrugged as he switched Gretchen from his left arm to his right.‟I don’t think they are going to do any harm to Tante Hilda. It’s Gretchen they want.”

Albus doubtfully looked at the blonde before he stared at his own reflection in the mirror and tried to put some order in his messy hair.‟Don’t take this too badly, but I think you might be imagining things.”

‟Al,I can assure you I’m not being over-dramatic for once.”They both snorted. ‟They want to study Gretchen because it wasn’t just her conception that was a rare magical feat. Her magic levels are already very strong for a newborn. Surely, you can feel it?” Gellert paused as they both studied their daughter. ‟ She’s going to be the most powerful witch of her age.”

‟Which isn’t very surprising if you ask me. But still, who in their right mind would kidnap a child and conduct researches on them?” Albus crossed his arms over his chest and sat on the edge of his desk.

‟I saw some incriminating papers during my stay in Prague. They tried to make me sign stuff. They tried to drug me once they said Gretchen was due to be born.”

Albus quirked an eyebrow at him.‟What do you mean by ′they tried to drug you′?”

‟They tried to give me a potion and told me it was supposed to tone down the pain and numb me, but once I saw the color of it was off, I watered the little plant that was in my room with it instead of drinking it.”

Albus, wide-eyed stared at him. ‟Are you  telling me they cut you open and you did it without even wincing?”

Gellert shrugged as if it hadn’t been such a big deal. ‟Well I managed to slightly numb the pain with wandless magic, but yes. What would you have done in my place? Why do you think I ran away from there not even an hour after Gretchen’s birth?”

***

As Albus listened with perplexity to Gellert’s detailed story of what exactly  had happened during his stay in Prague, Bathilda’s owl, Arthur, knocked at the window.

He had a note tucked in his beak.

Albus quickly took it before Arthur flew back to his place without even asking for a treat.

The auburn haired young man then looked questioningly at his ex who nodded as he unfolded the note.

_G,_

_A wizard and a witch claim you have stolen Gretchen from them. They are looking for the both of you. I have no doubt they are going to watch the house for the next few days._

_I told them I hadn’t seen you since last summer._

_You need to stay hidden at Albus’s place for now (why don’t you stay there for a good two weeks, just in case?)._

_Your magic is still unreliable and murder never was a good solution._

_PS :Don’t do anything stupid. I can’t bail you out of Azkaban._

-BB

‟You don’t happen to have any polyjuice potion ready somewhere around here now, do you? It’s a shame it takes a month to brew because I have an itch to go and to punch or hex those two into the next dimension.”

‟Why would I? Either way, I don’t think you should feed some to our daughter.”Albus got down from the desk and took Gretchen from Gellert’s grasp. ‟Your aunt is right. you should both stay here since we don’t know what those two have in mind.”

***

The two young wizards spent the rest of the day without talking.

Gellert seemed pretty agitated. He had taken care of Gretchen most of the day and had spent the rest of his time reading, while Albus had worked on his article which was almost ready to be sent and published.

Every once in a while, the auburn haired young man would steal glances at his ex, admiring his sharp features, his inviting lips and the way the sun made his lovely curls glow.

It was a shame, really, he wasn’t aware Gellert had done the same all day long…

At the end of the day, Albus managed to cook them something for dinner, but  as sual with his domestic charms he wasn’t impressed by the results.

Gellert said nothing but ate said food anyway.

Come night time, Gellert placed Gretchen in her cradle that was placed next to Albus’s bed just as the latter undressed and disappeared under the covers.

‟We should magically split your bed,”commented Gellert before he muttered a quick _Nox_.

Albus quirked an eyebrow at him.‟Or you could just crawl in here with me…”

After all, they had shared this bed plenty of times last summer.

‟You are also welcomed to sleep in Abe’s room while he’s away, but I can tell you the place has a weird smell to it.”

Gellert groaned. ‟Not even in my wildest dreams!” He paused. ‟I guess I’ll just go and sleep on the couch downstairs.”

‟Be my guest,” Albus replied as Gellert left the room and closed the door behind him.

***

The next day, Albus woke up close to noon, which was a very rare occurrence.

He might as well have been dead.

Since he had slept upstairs with Gretchen, he hadn’t been able to sleep much until Gellert went to fetch her and brought her downstairs around five this morning.

As the redhead went downstairs, he was pleasantly surprised by the delicious smell of something savory cooking.

Gretchen was on the floor, placed on her tummy on a fluffy blue blanket and was surrounded by various items she was intently looking at but wasn’t able to grab yet, while Gellert was reading his notes, the tip of his quill in his mouth and a determined expression on his face.

Albus flashed him a smile as he glanced at what was cooking with growing interest.

It looked 10 times more delicious than what he had cooked yesterday, which wasn’t really hard to achieve, but still…

Gellert nodded in his direction when he finally noticed him and handed him a piece of parchment. He then scratched the tip of his nose with his quill. ‟I’ve  just modified the last paragraph of your article. I think it reads better that way.”

Albus looked at him questioningly before he read his article over. ‟I have to agree with you on this one.”Gellert flashed him a smug smile.  ‟Are you still working on your manifesto? ”

Last summer, the two had spent countless hours writing and talking about how they could improve Gellert’s manifesto, which was promoting  the revocation of the Statute of secrecy and the superiority of wizards over muggles.

‟Nah, I’m writing down notes on what we know about male pregnancies.  It might be useful to others. If I ever finish my book, I could publish it under a pen name or something.”

Albus smirked. ‟Your pen name could be Goldilocks the Fair Looker.”

Gretchen began to fuss on the floor.  It seemed she was tired of resting on her belly.

As Gellert went to pick her up, Albus began to read the messy notes the blonde had scribbled down.

_Chap 1 : Why did this happen ~~to me~~?+ref in history( Tante Hilda could write a foreword or something)_

**_No idea. (need further researching)_ **

_Chap. 2 : How to conceive_

**_Full moon? (ask Tante Hilda, because she probably knows things I don’t about this)_ **

**_Do the deed ~~and do it well~~_ **

**_Blood pact?_ **

_Chap. 3 Symptoms :_

**_Something kicks you from the inside._ **

**_Your magic starts acting up._ **

**_You feel horny all the time during the first months. ~~Or is it just me?~~_ **

Albus stopped his reading and snorted loudly.

Gellert quirked an eyebrow at him. Even Gretchen seemed to wonder what was so funny.‟What?”

‟Your list of symptoms.” Albus stopped laughing and cleared his throat, his tone all serious now.‟Were you with someone else while you were away?”

‟No.” A beat. ‟ Were you?”

‟Oh yes, I’ve been with at least 15 other men. Don’t you know Godric’s Hollow is the place to-”

‟What?!” Gellert looked scandalized and on the verge of throwing a tantrum, but upon glancing at Albus’s mocking  expression,  he realized his ex was only messing with him.

He abruptly got up and handed the redhead their daughter. ‟This is not funny!” He threw Albus a murderous stare. ‟Not that I really care anyway…”

He then went to the door and slammed it behind him as both Albus and Gretchen stared at each other dumbfounded.

That night, Gellert crawled under the covers with Albus.

After an awkward silence, he stated he was only doing so to make it easier for the two of them to take care of Gretchen.

As the blonde turned his back on him, Albus smiled in the dark.

Of course this was all for their daughter’s sake…

***

‟I didn’t know you were that good with domestic charms. I swear my clothes never looked that good before you started doing the laundry for us.”

To say Albus was impressed by Gellert’s use of domestic charms was an understatement.

This well hidden fact was actually a big turn on, which was a shame, really, since the two still weren’t back together…

Gellert flashed him a salacious smile.‟You should know by now that I’m the very best at everything that I do.”

‟Truth be told, you could put the best housewitch to shame...”

The blonde shook his head.‟Don’t get your hopes up, Al.  I can already tell you that I won’t stay home to cook and do every chores there is to do in the household while our fifteen kids are crying in the background and you are out and away having fun and a career.”

Albus stared at him with interest.‟Fifteen kids? For an only child, I didn’t know you wanted that big of a family.”

‟Trust me, I don’t want any more sprogs. Gretchen is the only exception because she is utter perfection.”  They both agreed on this.‟I mean if we ever get back together- Not that we ever will, but- I don’t know any spells or potions to prevent another pregnancy.”

Albus shrugged.‟Muggles go with abstinence.”

Gellert looked appalled.‟I hate that word and I think I might be allergic to it. Anyway, since we are not goint to have sex ever again, we shouldn’t dwell on these matters, ” quickly added the blonde as Albus nodded.

That night, close to two in the morning, Albus, back from feeding Gretchen decided sleeping next to Gellert wasn’t enough for him.

He yearned for more…

Which is why he slowly inched his way closer and closer to Gellert until he was so close to him he could feel his warmth through his shirt.

Since the latter seemed in a deep sleep, he slowly placed his head on the blonde’s chest.

It seemed he was wrong in thinking Gellert was asleep, since the latter’s breathing momentarily paused-and so did Albus’ heart- as he did so.

An agonizing moment passed before Gellert’s left arm encircled his waist and pulled him closer.

Albus relaxed into the touch.‟ I’m only doing this for warmth,” he explained as he yawned and closed his eyes.

‟Na sicher…” replied Gellert as he reaffirmed his grip on Albus’s waist.

***

Almost an entire month after his article’s actual due date, Albus finally sent it to _Transfiguration Daily_.

He had decided to keep Gellert’s modifications and received an owl later on during the day, notifying him money would be deposited directly into his account at Gringotts and asking him if he could maybe write a new article about elementary transfiguration for their next issue, due in three weeks.

Gellert urged him to ask for a raise this time, which he did doubtfully.

Bathilda sent them a note stating Gellert should remain at Albus’s place another week just to be sure all danger was away and that she was missing Gretchen already.

The rest of the day was spent in pleasant conversation between the two wizards and it seemed the mood had lightened and improved between them.

As they went to bed that night, they snuggled against each other without hesitation.

Albus’s heart was beating way too loudly as he wondered if he should try to kiss Gellert.

Was it a good idea?

Was he going too fast?

Things were going so well between them…

He was still studying the pros and cons of doing so when Gellert suddenly climbed on top of him; his face inches from the redhead’s.

Albus’s breath caught in his throat as a hand cupped his face. Gellert was now so close to him his curls were tickling his nose. 

Albus couldn’t see much in the dark, but he could feel Gellert’s breath on his face as it seemed the blonde was studying what he should do next.

Delicately the redhead closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against Gellert’s who quickly responded.

Finally, this was it.

It was heaven, it was pure bliss...

And it was exactly when Gretchen woke up, as if on cue, demanding immediate attention and putting an end to their making out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, only three chapters left:D Brace yourselves because a LOT of fluff is coming (and some light drama too, because why not?) :D


	8. Yearning for your touch (amongst other things)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys discover it’s not easy to get intimate when you have a two months old daughter to take care of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very special thanks to everyone who took the time to comment or to leave kudos on this fic.  
> You are the absolute bests and you make my day :D
> 
> As always, English is not my first language Xxx

‟Can you tell me why exactly our daughter cries every time we try to get intimate?”Albus asked, his voice bordering desperation.

‟I  don’t know. Maybe she’s jealous?” Gellert replied as he walked into the living room.

Gretchen, who was placed in a basket on the floor, stared at both of her fathers with a slight frown on her little face.

It was absolutely impossible not to coo or to be taken by the sudden urge to hug her when she did that (and she probably already knew it), which is exactly what Gellert did as he picked her up and gave her a hug and a kiss on the head.

He could feel her auburn curls tickle his cheek in the process. Who knew he had such a soft spot for sprogs? Certainly not him.

Albus sighed, shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose.‟She’s a little over two months old. I’m not convinced she would do this on purpose.” He paused and glared at the blonde. ‟Now, your behavior on the other hand clearly isn’t accidental. Pray tell, remind me why you are strolling around the house half naked once more?”

Gellert flashed the redhead a smirk and then shrugged innocently. ‟I’ve just finished bathing, that’s all.”

As a result, his hair was extra curly; something that always made the Gryffindor go weak in the knees.

The fact the ambient air was growing more humid by the day because June was just around the corner wasn’t helping either and Albus was done. _Oh,_ so done.

Life was toying with him once more and it was pure torture.

He and Gellert were finally back together. So far, they had already shared a fair amount of heated kisses, had a whole house to themselves, shared a bed at night and yet, every time one of them tried to initiate something that could potentially lead them to having sex, Gretchen threw a tantrum.

EVERY.DAMN.TIME.

It was as if she had a sixth sense… A very bothersome sixth sense.

It had been ten months; ten damn cruel months since the redhead had experienced any type of action and Merlin be damned, he had spent more than 17 year of his life without even having a thought about it, but now that he knew what he was missing out on, it was way too much.

Albus sighed once more as he angrily stuffed another chocolate frog into his mouth. It seemed dragging himself in a sugar induced coma was probably the only solution he had found so far not to spontaneously combust.

In fact, it was a miracle either hadn’t happened already.

Of course, Gellert, being the absolute git that he was, was making it harder and harder for Albus to just ignore him.

He obviously was trying to make him snap, going as far as sleeping entirely naked for the last two nights in a row.

Yes, life was unfair to Albus Dumbledore.

The latter groaned out loud as Gellert safely rested Gretchen against his chest and placed her head in the crook of his neck. ‟Maybe she’s trying to prevent you from not finishing your article.”

Albus rubbed his eyes. ‟What does it have to do with my article?”

‟Well speaking from my own experience, our making out put a damper on my manifesto and on my conquest of the world last summer.”Gellert flashed him a smug smile before he went on. ‟If that’s any comfort to you, I was thinking about you while I was bathing...”

Albus blushed upon hearing this, quickly opened another chocolate frog (his fifth this afternoon) and quickly stuffed the poor frog into his mouth. ‟I hate you.”

‟Ich auch,” replied Gellert as he bent down to place a light kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. As he pulled back, Albus grasped a handful of  his curls, dragged him back in his direction and pressed his lips against his in a slower and more heated kiss.

This time though, instead of Gretchen fussing in the background, they were surprised to hear a loud exclamation and a chuckle.

‟Good morning boys! I just walked by to see how you two were doing. ”Bathilda Bagshot began as she chuckled some more. ‟Seems to me you two are doing just fine.”

The two swiftly broke apart, Albus blushing like a maiden while Gellert flashed his aunt his trademark boyish grin.

Gretchen, still in Gellert’s arms, beamed at the old lady.

‟And here’s my little princess!”exclaimed the historian as she quickly took the baby in her grasp.  ‟Have you seen those gorgeous hair? They are getting longer and longer everyday.”

‟Yep, I’m surrounded by long-haired dark gingers,” conceded Gellert as Bathilda frowned at him.

‟You should cut those messy curls Gellert, they are getting out of control.”

‟I think Albus won’t agree with you on that one tante Hilda.”

The latter nodded in the background as he grabbed another chocolate frog.

‟And I guess his opinion is more important than mine now, isn’t it? What a shame!”The historian rolled her eyes before she explained the reason of her visit. ‟I was wondering if I could take this little love here and bring her back to my place for let’s see… the next 24 hours or so?”

Gellert frowned at his aunt.‟But what if those two crooks from Prague come back and-”

‟Well if it’s too much of a bother, I’ll leave her in your care.” Bathilda shrugged innocently. ‟ I thought you two might want to enjoy some alone time together, but I guess I might have been wrong in assuming so...”

Gellert stared at his aunt with wide eyes while Albus paused on stuffing another chocolate frog into his mouth.

Needless to say Gretchen’s bag was packed in lesser time than it takes to say ′snitch′.

***

As soon as the door was closed behind Bathilda, who was happily whistling outside, the two wizards briefly stared at each other before they practically ran upstairs to Albus’s room.

It seemed as though time was too precious to loose as clothes were quickly discarded and unceremoniously thrown everywhere around the room.

Bathilda hadn’t even reached her house yet that Albus had already pulled Gellert on top of him on the bed, not even bothering to get under the covers.

Then, it was as if time stopped.

Nothing else remained but heat, lust and passion. Hands fumbled and grasped as greedy mouths searched each others and exchanged filthy kisses while eyes finally got their fill of naked skin.

Then, there was more warmth and heat as bodies were joined together after such a long time, struggling at first to find a rhythm and then quickly moving in sync because it was after all impossible to forget your other half.

Soon, a back was arching, heads were  thrown back, whispered words could be heard, urging, chanting and calling without the need of being stifled and magic, strong magic,was flowing back between them as they rode waves and waves of pleasure together.

Afterwards, hands intertwined, old scars connected together and kisses grew sparser and lighter.

And finally, after months of acting up, it seemed Gellert’s magic was back to it’s full potential as both young men could strongly feel it under their skin.

Albus rested his head on Gellert’s chest as they both savored the moment in silence.

Time passed and Albus wasn’t sure if he had dozed off or not when Gellert reaffirmed his grip on him and broke the silence.

‟I hope you know you won’t get much sleep tonight…”

‟I wasn’t expecting anything else,” the redhead huskily replied as Gellert was already flipping them over, emitting a growl before he hungrily captured his lover’s lips once more.

Finally, life was being good to Albus Dumbledore and he would be an idiot not to enjoy it.

***

Albus stirred in the covers, feeling sated and the happiest he had ever felt since last August. The sun was already high in the sky and he could feel the warmth of it’s rays on his skin as he stretched lazily and rolled on his left side, his eyes still closed while his mind was still blissfully at peace.

He could feel a dull ache in his body, but Merlin be praised last night had been everything he had ever wanted and he would absolutely need to thank Bathilda forever for babysitting Gretchen for them.

 _Oh_ , the things Gellert had said and done to him…Albus blushed just thinking about it.

He was sure he was now a deep shade of purplish red which probably wasn’t very suiting with his hair coloring as he thought he should probably get up by now and get some stuff done before he and Gellert needed to fetch Gretchen back from Bathilda’s. Their 24 hours were already almost up.

They should probably begin to arrange his parent’s room in order to move Gretchen’s stuff in it.  After all, the room hadn’t been used since his mother’s passing last year and it seemed obvious now keeping Gretchen in their room was out of the question.

Oh, and he also had his new article to write if he wanted to be paid…

Although he still had two weeks and a half to write it anyway.

Bah, plenty of time still.

He patted the mattress in order to find his fantastic lover, but discovered with disappointment that the bed was cold and empty.

Well, so much for another round of steamy lovemaking…

He opened his eyes and squinted in the broad daylight, focusing on the sounds that should be coming from downstairs. Upon hearing nothing, he wondered if Gellert was out or something, when he spotted a short note on his bedside table.

Frowning, he picked it up and read it at once.

_Liebling,_

_I think I might have worn you out._

_I just went outside to check something. Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it._

_-G_

Albus frowned. The fact Gellert had taken the time to write he shouldn’t worry meant he should absolutely be worried.

He sighed. In what kind of trouble his lover was going to get himself into this time?

***

It had proved fairly easy for Gellert to track down those two idiots from Prague.

As soon as the blonde had felt his magic was back to it’s full potential, he had known he needed to look around town to see if the foreigners were still hanging around.

He needed to take care of them and fast so they wouldn’t threaten his newfound happiness.

He leaned against a wall, watching them from the shadows as the two were eating outside a pub and chatting in a low voice as they sipped their small ale, unaware that they were being watched.

Gellert was, after all, an expert at using disillusion charms, to an extent where using an invisibility cloak wasn’t even a necessity for him to become invisible.

He studied them some more as he wondered what he should do next.

Should he use a memory charm on them so they wouldn’t remember why they were here in the first place? Or maybe he should use _Imperio_ and force them to hand him all the documents they probably had in their possession on him and his daughter?

Or, he could also kill them and hide their corpse.

This last option sounded a bit extreme, but at least it would be permanent. If those two proved to be a real threat to his daughter, his own flesh and blood, he wouldn’t hesitate a second to use it.

He also had to consider the fact that they were two while he was alone. He was powerful, but the more targets there were to charm, the riskier it got.

He was still pondering which option he should use when he felt a presence walk up to him.

Gellert smirked. ‟I see my sleeping beauty has finally awoken. How did you know where to find me?”

Albus lifted his own disillusion charm as Gellert tampered with his.‟As soon as I read your note, I knew exactly what you were going to do. I only had to ask Mrs. Tolliver, who knows everything that happens around town if she knew where I could find the foreigners and voilà, here I am.”

Gellert flashed his partner a genuine smile.‟A real genius.”

Albus studied their opponents with interest ‟How can they go around saying they are Gretchen’s real parents? They don’t even physically look like her at all.” A pause.‟Gretchen is so much prettier.”

‟Of course she is! When we mingle we create nothing less than perfection,”replied Gellert as if this was the most obvious thing ever.‟We should do it more often.”

Albus quirked an eyebrow at him.‟Was that supposed to be a very cheesy incentive in order for you to get into my pants?”

‟Me? I would never dare!” The blond had a smug look on his face. ‟ But, if you promise to tone it down, I wouldn’t mind taking you up against this lovely wall here. After all, those two aren’t very difficult to track down and I don’t think they are going to leave any time soon.”

‟A tempting offer, but I’d rather go with business before pleasure in this case. What’s your plan?”

‟What a shame!” Gellert made an annoyed noise with his tongue. ‟I was planning on using _imperio_ on them. The easiest would have been to _Avada Kedavra_ them, but I thought you wouldn’t approve of that method.”

Albus shook his head and then slapped the blond on the shoulder.‟You really have an unhealthy obsession with the Unforgivables.”

‟Do I need to remind you that they want to kidnap our precious daughter?”

Albus sighed but seemed resigned. ‟Alright, I’ll  use _imperio_ on the woman while you take care of the man.”

***

Claudia had just finished her tea, a drink she found was tasteless and couldn’t understand why the British liked so much, when she saw her work partner was acting strangely.

She frowned. ‟Gunther, is there something wrong with you?”

Gunther, who had a puzzled expression on his face, glanced at her as he wondered what he was doing too. He awkwardly stood up and began to walk almost mechanically toward an abandoned building located next to the pub they were sitting at.‟I don’t know what or why, but I feel a sudden urge to go there.”

Suddenly, Claudia seemed to be taken by the same urge as she closely followed her partner to the building.

***

The two had a panicked expression on their face as they entered the empty building and closed the door behind them.

Albus, who was standing next to the door and was still hidden thanks to his disillusion charm locked it behind them while Gellert, always one for the dramatics, dropped his charm and pointed his wand directly at them.

‟Immobulus. Accio wands.”

He quickly grabbed the wands that flew to him and stuffed them in one of his coat’s pocket.

The two foreigners stared at him with a mix of shock and furry.‟You?! How come your magic is back already and where have you hidden the child?”

‟As for the magic, blame it on love, the most powerful magic of all. Or on a very good shag, I can’t say for sure.” The blonde shrugged before he leaned nonchalantly against the back wall of the room. ‟ As to my daughter, she’s well hidden. I can already assure you you will never touch one of her hair again.”

He then walked back towards them and took his time to search their pockets for documents.

It was impressive, really, the extent of what he found on them.  They had pictures of him, information about his family, a detailed description of Gretchen and a falsified birth certificate so as to bring her back with them to Prague if they ever succeeded in kidnapping her.

Gunther sneered at him.‟You are just a kid. What exactly do you think you are going to do with us?”

Gellert shrugged matter of factly, his mismatched eyes glinting with a strange glow.‟Well, I would kill you both and would absolutely feel no remorse about it if it was only up to me, but my partner would definitively not talk to me for at least another six months if I did just that.”

Albus, who was still concealed and couldn’t process  a quarter of the conversation that was going on in front of him since it was in German decided he should probably interfere before things went ugly.

‟Six months? I dare say for at least another nine,” replied the redhead as he took off his own disillusion charm.

Gunther and Claudia frowned.‟Who’s this?”they asked in unison, in a thick English this time.

Gellert smirked as Albus walked up to him.‟This lovely Brit here is my partner.” A wink. ‟ I guess you have him to thanks for not lying already stone cold dead on the floor.”

Gunther groaned and spat at Gellert’s feet. ‟What are you going to do with us kid?”

‟It’s kind of you to ask. I’ll do three simple things.” There was another dramatic pause as Gellert began to walk in circle around the two foreigners who were still frozen in place. ‟One, I’ll keep all of those papers I’ve just found on you. I really don’t like that picture of me.”

‟Two, I’ll temper with your memories a bit.”

Albus rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s devil-may-care attitude as Gellert paused his dramatic pacing.

The redhead cleared his throat as to attract the attention of their captives on him.‟Three, you are going to vanish from our sight and never come back, because if you ever do, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

‟And we are supposed to be scared of you two?”said the man with bravado as he let out a snort. Claudia, on the other hand, looked anxiously at Gellert unsure as to what he would do next.

Albus sighed exaggeratedly.‟You know what Gell, I’ll do the memory charms myself. I’m slightly more talented than you at casting them.” Claudia gulped loudly at these words as Gellert rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ′ I’m still better than you at dueling′.

The redhead pulled his wand out.‟ Oh, by the way, if you ever come back, I can get you both in deep deep deep trouble.” A soft smile.‟I should probably mention that I’m a youth representative for the Wizengamot and that I have some very high connections within the ministry.”

‟I wonder how many years you would get in Azkaban for attempting a kidnapping,” Gellert pondered out loud.

This seemed to be the last straw as the woman blanched and the man looked nervous.

Claudia was the first to leave the empty room without even uttering a word while Gunther gave them a dark look as Albus crossed his arms over his chest and Gellert mockingly waved at him as he the foreigner turned around and followed the woman outside.

‟Do you think they will come back?” asked the blonde as he wondered what he was going to do with the two extra wands he still had in his pocket.

Albus shrugged but sounded cheerful.‟I seriously doubt it. I think we managed to scare them for good.”

Gellert waggled his eyebrows. ‟And now, might I remind you that my earlier offer about the wall still stands?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two chapters left :D


	9. Troubles in paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Here’s a VERY fluffy chapter to celebrate :D  
> Thank you so much for commenting and leaving kudos on this fic :D  
> As always, English is not my first language Xxx

To place Gretchen in Kendra’s bedroom had been Gellert’s idea and Albus couldn’t say he was quite on board with it at first.

The latter had felt rather uneasy about the fact that they were using that room again after such a short period of time had passed since his mother’s untimely death.

Albus felt as though he was trespassing, in a sense, on his mother’s private haven.

Being very secretive in nature, he had felt rather mortified when some letters and bills that belonged to her mother had fell on the floor as they had shuffled some furniture around.

Gellert had tried to calm Albus' uneasy conscience by telling him Kendra would probably be extremely pleased to know that her granddaughter was now using her room as her own.

Somehow, it hadn’t really convinced the redhead… but, as he was resting his head on Gellert’s chest, the both of them still sticky and sweaty from their earlier activities, he had to agree this had all been done for the greater good after all.

Since Gretchen was sleeping in her own room she now only woke once or twice per night, which was a great improvement.

Albus’ sleep was still quite sparse, but at least it now was for a very different reason…

And a much more enjoyable one at that!

He was about to doze off, soothed by Gellert’s steady heartbeat and by the fact the latter was absently tracing patterns with his fingers on his lower back, when the blonde spoke, breaking their blissful silence.

‟Do you know what I’ve been thinking about for the last few days?”

Albus cracked an eye open. ‟No, but I’m sure you are about to enlighten me.”

Gellert paused his tracing and Albus felt him shrug underneath him. ‟I think I could see myself becoming an auror.”

Albus propped himself up on his right elbow and gave his lover an amused look.‟I can easily imagine you looking very handsome and very hot as you kick dark wizards’ butts, but it would also mean you would leave Gretchen and I all by ourselves for long periods of time because aurors tend to travel a lot.” He pouted slightly.

‟Yes, but I could still look for our hallows while I am away and I wouldn’t be gone all the time.” Gellert paused as they kissed once, twice…‟Think about it : we could have loads of sex before I leave on missions and we could write each other explicit letters in code like we used to do last summer.  I could also bring you and Gretchen presents from all over the world and money wouldn’t be as much of an issue as it is right now.”

‟I guess I could warm up to that idea…”

Gellert rolled his eyes. ‟And you say I’m the dramatic one out of us two… To me, this scenario sounds like the ones of those sappy romance novels you enjoy to read so much when you think I am not looking at you.”

The redhead tried to look scandalized, but it wasn’t very effective.‟Who, me?”

‟Yes, _you_.”Gellert smirked before he pinched his boyfriend’s butt. Albus groaned and slapped his hand away.

‟I don’t read sappy romance novels. I’ll let you know that I am way too busy to do so.” Albus rolled his eyes at his boyfriend, who tried to kiss him once more, to no avail. ‟I still have my article to write and you are proving to be quite the distraction since you are more insatiable than ever. Add to that the fact Gretchen spends more and more time awake every day and that Nicholas Flamel has finally agreed to send me some dragon blood samples to work with and you’ll understand that I clearly don’t have time for such frivolous reads.”

‟Insatiable, _me_? And who’s fault is that!” The blonde snorted. ‟ I dare say _The Last Snitch_ classifies as a sappy romance novel to me.”  Gellert took an exaggeratedly suave voice. ‟ Cassandra, a seventeen year old witch, wasn’t prepared to fall in love with Brandon, her new potion partner. Soon, she discovers Brandon really is the wizard of her dreams, but does he love her back or is Quidditch the onl-”

Albus groaned before he silenced his annoying boyfriend with a mind-blowing kiss. He then gave him a dark look before he snuggled back into his chest.‟Alright Grindelwald, I get it. Although that book is not as bad as you make it sound like. Now, why don’t you put your mouth to better use before Gretchen gets up for her midnight feeding? ”

***

Two weeks after their late night talk, Albus was hard at work on his research on the unknown uses of dragon blood, while Gretchen was in her room and taking a nap (which tended to be a rare feat lately) and Gellert was at the Ministry for a job interview.

The latter had an appointment with the head of the auror’s department, all thanks to Albus’s connections.

After only a few hours of experimentation with dragon blood, Albus had managed to turn the kitchen as well as most of the living room into a war zone.

In fact, Gellert was certainly going to flip upon seing the state of the house.  

At least, this mess hadn’t all been done in vain since Albus had discovered boiled dragon blood worked wonders as a spot remover.

It’s smell on clothing wasn’t very pleasant though…

As a result, the windows were open which was very lucky for Albus, since he heard Gellert walk up to the house before the latter had reached the door.

Just by the sound of his steps, the redhead knew things probably hadn’t went as well as his boyfriend had expected them to go in the first place during his job interview.

Albus muttered a quick scourgify, which slightly improved the house wreck situation as Gellert finally opened the door.

‟How did it go?” he asked quickly as Gellert walked into the room.

Albus swiftly placed the remainder of today’s blood samples in vials as Gellert’s eyes grew wide upon seeing the mess around them and remained silent for a moment. Albus blushed a bit as he crossed his arms over his chest and waited for an answer.

Out of the two, he  had always been the messier one while Gellert was so ordained it was a real obsession.

‟Well, this was all goblin scheiße to me!” The blonde groaned loudly as he plopped down on the nearest chair. ‟First, they asked me some stupid questions about myself. Then, they said they wouldn’t hire me because I’m a no good Eastern European who has been expelled from bloody Durmstrang.” He flailed his arms into the air.‟ I know I’ve been an utter arse in the past, but since I’ve had Gretchen, I’ve changed. I’m not _that_ bad anymore.” Albus nodded as Gellert shook his head. ‟Then, they said they usually tested the canditates on their potion skills, but since they weren’t hiring me in the first place anyway,  I did not need to do said test.But, you know me; I did it nonetheless and I shut them up by prepping Amortentia, the Draught of Peace and was on my way to brew Felix Felicis, when they stopped me and told me they would like to see me next week for a dueling exam. ”

‟Which you are going to pass and then they are going to take you in training.”

‟Who knows.”Gellert cryptically replied as Albus climbed on his lap and wrapped his arms around his neck.‟Dumbledore, have I ever told you you are a real hazard when it comes to your experiments? I shouldn’t leave you unsupervised.”

‟Might be a good idea. Who knows what I’ll be up to next…”The redhead replied as he pulled his boyfriend closer and slowly kissed him.

Gellert pulled back and quirked an eyebrow at him‟I should maybe put you in bed arrest just in case.”

Albus snorted before they went back to exchanging kisses.

Gellert was teasingly nibbling and sucking on Albus’s lower lip when…

‟Goblin crotch, you must be kidding me!? Albus, what in Merlin’s name is that bastard still doing here? ”

The two lovers sprung apart upon hearing the loud and angry voice.

Albus, white as a sheet then turned around and stared at his younger bother, Aberforth, as the latter stepped into the living room, his worn-out luggage in tow.

Abe looked as messy as always with his unkempt appearance and his face was already bright red with anger as he gave the both of them the death glare.

Albus had been so entranced by his research and by Gellert, their daughter and their new domestic bliss that he had absolutely forgotten about June ending, which meant the school year at Hogwarts had come to an end too.

‟Aberforth, what are you doing here?” Albus managed to calmly blurt out even though on the inside he felt  like throwing up or fainting.

Or maybe both at the same time.

The last thing he wanted now that his life was back on track was to get a repeat of last year’s three-way duel…

At least Ariana was still staying at their aunt’s place, which meant she couldn’t get hurt this time if things turned nasty, which was a good thing.

‟I’m back at my own house, you big git. Last time I checked, I still lived here whereas he didn’t,”angrily replied Aberforth as he dropped his suitcase on the floor and pulled his wand out. ‟I can’t believe you took him back after everything he did last summer. Bloody genius, my arse! I always knew you were an idiot.”

‟Shut up Aberforth and stop yelling at your brother.”Gellert shouted back as he too pulled his wand out.

_Oh Merlin, why were those two such hotheads?_

‟ **You** shut up Grindelwald or I’ll shut you up for good.”Aberforth threatened as he walked up to the blonde and tried to look as menacing as possible as he did so.

Gellert, a couple of inches taller than the latter looked at him cockily while Albus tried to get in the middle to calm things down between the both of them.

‟Aberforth, stop shouting. Gellert, _no_. Remember what happened last time you two started to duel!”

‟Yes, last time, Grindelwald, that big ponce fled like a coward after our duel.” Aberforth let out a shriek of laughter and sparks flew out of his wand.

Things were about to get very ugly when some cries were heard coming from upstairs.

‟Congratulations you simpleton,  you’ve just upset her.”Gellert said acidly as Aberforth frowned, turned around and walked up the stairs.

‟What have you done to our mother’s room?” Aberforth asked with furry as Albus tried, in vain, to prevent him from opening the old wooden door.

Abe pushed his older brother aside and let out a surprised gasp as he went into the room.

There, in the middle of his mother’s room, was a crib with a tiny screaming baby in it. His brain simply couldn’t piece things out properly and he clenched his fist in anger. ‟Albus, don’t you have any shame? What the-”

‟Aberforth, wait I’ll-”Albus tried to explain what was going on, but Aberforth only frowned and pointed his wand at the little baby.

Gellert, sensing the two Dumbledores had things to sort out, had tried to stay out of their conversation so far, but this was proving way too much. He roughly pushed Aberforth aside and got to the crib first, quickly picking a sobbing Gretchen up into his arms.‟Oh no, you don’t! If you touch her, I swear I am going to kill you.”

Aberforth lowered his wand and turned to face his big brother as Gretchen continued to cry. ‟Oh, so the monster reproduced? And you, Albus, you are even more of an idiot than I thought you were since you took him back with his sprog.”

He spat on the floor as Gellert left the room, Gretchen curiously staring at Aberforth on their way out.

‟If you had waited before getting in the room, I could have taken the time to warn you about Gretchen being here, but since you are an imbecile, I guess I’ll need to explain myself more concisely.” Albus crossed his arms over his chest. ‟Gretchen was conceived last summer. She’s mine too.”

Aberforth stared at his brother with a mix of rage and incredulity. ‟This is bloody non-sense! You’ve clearly lost it… I don’t want to hear anymore about this. All I have to say is that I want them both out of _my_ house.”

‟Aberforth, I know it’s hard for you to understand what this is all about, but they-”

Aberforth stared coldly back at him.‟Don’t you dare say it! _I_ am your family.”

‟They are my family now.” Albus calmly stated before he too left the room.

Thirty minutes later, Albus' things as well as Gretchen’s were packed. As he left the house, he swore to never return to it ever again.

***

Of course, Bathilda had agreed to take their little family back to her house without any hesitation, but cohabiting with her after spending more than a month alone in their own space made things quite weird for our lovers.

Sure, the old lady was more than willing to help taking care of Gretchen, but their daughter was now back to sharing their room which had put a damper on Albus and Gellert's very active sex life.

Yes, Bathilda took her precious Gretchen in her room on some nights to give them some privacy, but to be honest it only made everything very awkward the next morning.

Gellert had no problem with the fact his great aunt was fully aware of their sex life, but it wasn’t the same for Albus.

Plus, with Bathilda around, it proved way more difficult for the redhead to work on his dragon blood experiment, which slowed down his progress.

So much for a breakthrough before the end of the current year…

The relationship between Albus and Aberforth was currently non-existent and since he had left the family house, the latter hadn’t dared to talk to him.

Even Bathilda had tried to talk some sense into Abe, but she too had failed.

Gellert was still stuck in the long and ridiculous selection process of being hired as an auror, which wasn’t great for his general mood.He was loosing patience with how ridiculous this was going and Albus could only agree with him about the whole absurdness of it all...

***

The morning of Albus’s nineteenth birthday had begun as any typical morning with Bathilda scribbling down notes for her upcoming book, Gellert reading an obscure novel as he kept an eye on their precious daughter while he, the birthday boy, was writing a reply to his friend Elphias, who was wishing him a very happy birthday from Alaska.

At close to four months old, Gretchen had already begun to accio some of her favorite toys with involuntary magic.

The problem was that she also did it with household items, just as she did this morning with one of Bathilda’s most ancient tea cup.

Gellert had prevented the cup from breaking, which had inevitably caused a little commotion as Arthur, Bathilda’s owl, had swooped by the kitchen window and had dropped a thick letter in front of Albus’s cup.

The latter’s heart had begun to pound wildly as he had recognized the seal of his old school, Hogwarts, on the letter.

He quickly scanned the letter as both Bathilda and Gellert curiously glanced at him.

‟Headmaster Black is asking me if I could come next week and substitute for a couple of months in defense against the dark arts! He’s even offering me my own quarters in the school,”Albus exclaimed in disbelief.

Gellert paused as he carefully thought about his reply. ‟I guess you could live in that old castle while I could stay here with Tante Hilda.”

Gretchen sweetly babbled while Bathilda nodded in the background. ‟Of course, my dear.”

Albus nodded, but seemed very toughtful for someone who had just received a very interesting job offer. ‟I think I’ll just go and pay him a visit.”

After exchanging a quick kiss with his boyfriend, he used some of Bathilda’s floo powder and disappeared in a flash of green smoke in the fireplace.

As soon as Albus was out of sight, the historian turned around and gently slapped her great-nephew behind the head.‟Gellert, don’t pout.”

‟I’m not pouting.”

Bathilda rolled her eyes "And I’m the Queen of England.”

‟Good, that means I’m richer than I thought I was and that I now will be able to afford my own place since I won’t be able to stay with Albus at Hogwarts now, will I?”Gellert replied acidly as Gretchen stuffed the corner of her freshly knitted purple blanket into her mouth.

‟You know fully well your relationship needs to remain hidden,”simply reminded him Bathilda as she turned back to her work.

Gellert groaned out loud as he placed Gretchen back down on the floor and angrily walked out of the room.

***

Gellert was still sitting in the backyard, moodily spinning on a swing Bathilda had tied years ago on one of her willow trees, when Albus came back from his meeting with headmaster Black.

‟So, how did it go?”Gellert asked, trying to sound pleased by the fact Albus was going to part from him once more.

Albus, who read him better than anyone else in the world, avoided his stare as he sat on the ground next to him. ‟I’ve got the job and now I need to prep my classes.”He paused as he brought his knees to his chest. ‟I’ll also need to check if I have enough clothes that seem proper for teaching.”

Gellert hummed in reply.

‟Money is still going to be an issue though…”Albus added as Gellert frowned and paused his spinning.

‟Why is that? You are actually going to get a real job.”

‟Well, Black groaned out loud at first when I told him I wanted to bring someone along, but afterwards he told me I could stay in one of Hogsmeade’s little cottage the school owned for it’s staff if I wanted to. Of course, its cost will be deduced from my salary as he reminded me of two or three times when I signed my employment papers,”Albus replied matter-of-factually as Gellert jumped down from the swing and pulled him up to kiss him.

This was, by far, the best birthday Albus had ever spent in his life and it now seemed their future would be a whole lot brighter.

***

‟Merlin, that’s small.”Albus remarked as soon as he stepped inside the cottage.

Gellert blinked twice as he walked in too. ‟Yep, it is. I think a cell in Azkaban would look better and bigger. ”

‟It’s not much…”began Albus as he stared at the impressive amount of dust that was everywhere.

‟But at least it’s ours,”completed Gellert before they both burst out laughing and shared a tender kiss in the middle of their newly owned microscopic living room.

August 31th 1900, exactly a year after the three-way duel, would now be known in Hogsmeade as the day the infamous Dumbledore-Grindelwald couple had moved into what would be for many, many,many years to come their very own little love nest.

And it was one of the greatest thing that had ever happened to them...

So far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope all that fluff didn’t kill anyone XD  
> Next time, you’ll get the Epilogue :D How do you think this fic is going to end?  
> (According to the Lexicon+ HP wiki, Albus’s birthday is supposed to be in late August.  
> One of the only known use of dragon blood is that it really is a good stain remover XD).


	10. September 1st 1911

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone :D  
> The epilogue is set 11 years after the last chapter ended.  
> As always, English is not my first language.  
> PS: Just so you know, Grindeldore has spent a very steamy weekend getaway in Paris for Albus’ thirtieth birthday, which was a little more than a week before the epilogue begins…😉  
> RE-PS : Une jarrettelle is a garter…

The morning of the first day back to school is always a hectic one.

It’s even worse when your daughter starts her first year at Hogwarts, you happen to be a teacher there and your husband, who was suposed to leave for a three week mission in Albany about an hour ago, still hasn’t left and is running late.

All in all, it was yet another typical morning at the Grindelwald-Dumbledore Hogsmeade cottage…

In her room, Gretchen Grindelwald, now aged 11, was busy putting on her new school robes as she critically studied her reflection in the mirror.

She was tall for her age and had a very lovely face. Her long auburn hair glowed and looked very soft in the morning light. Her mismatched eyes glinted with mischief as she applied some very light eye-shadow on her eyelids and she put a very discreet tint of lipstick on her full lips before she wrapped it back into it’s silk packaging.

Vinda Rosier, her father’s work partner, had brought her the makeup in secret while the two were away in Paris.

Both of her fathers were very much against her applying some at her age but she was very fond of breaking the rules…

Hopefully, they would both be too wrapped up in each other, as was customary when her Vati left for missions, to realize she had applied some for her first day at Hogwarts.

After all, there was no way she was going to sit in front of everyone in the Great Hall to be sorted without looking her best.

Loving what she saw in the mirror, she winked at her reflection and went downstairs to grab something to eat before she left for school with her dad.

As usual, their tiny living room/kitchen area was a real mess by now.

Her Vater’s lugage was already neatly packed and was placed by the fireplace, while her dad’s school bag was still empty and would probably remain so until they were about to leave.

She wasn’t surprised to see her fathers were nowhere in sight.

She rolled her eyes. They probably were taking a shower together or snogging instead of getting ready.

Her little brother, Aurelius, aged five, was already sitting at the kitchen table and  was reading a book, the Tales of Beedle the Bard, all by himself.

His little legs did not reach the floor and he was humming a song as he was finishing his porridge.

If Gretchen was a nice mix of both of her fathers’ best features, Aurelius was their Vater’s spitting image at the same age. With his chubby little cheeks, his pointy little nose and his  golden curls he looked like a cherub. Even their grandmother, Bathilda, called him that when she took care of him.

The good thing though was that he had inherited their father’s sweet temper (or so usually claimed their Vati).

Aurelius’ birth had been a real surprise.

Her fathers never thought they would get a second child, thinking this was all related to them performing a blood pact the summer Gretchen had been surprised.

But oh boy, were they surprised when they came back from Vienna with a special wand, matching rings and a bun in the oven.

A pregnancy wasn’t the easiest thing to hide when you are an auror who works for the Ministry, but with the help of Vinda and their grandmother, her fathers had somehow managed to hide that fact and Aurelius had been born nine months later.

His fathers had then worked relentlessly on finding a potion that would prevent any further pregnancies, which so far seemed to work.

To quote their Vater : one sprog was alright, two still passed, but a third was a big no no!

Aurelius looked at her curiously and gave her a thumb up as he stuffed another spoonful of porridge into his mouth as she sat down next to him.

The fireplace suddenly went ablaze with green flames and in graciously popped Vinda Rosier, looking as dangerous and as stunning as ever.

Gretchen admired once more how pretty the French witch looked. Vinda was a perfect mix of class, danger and beauty and the redhead hoped that she too one day would look as good as her.

Vinda wasn’t one for kids though, but she nonetheless winked at her and patted Aurelius on the head as she then loudly walked up to the bottom of the stairs and yelled : ‟Grindelwald, _mon chéri_ , get your sexy little ass down here or else our boss is going to praise _cet imbécile de_ Travers instead of us once more!”

‟Scheiße! I can’t stand that git!” Gellert yelled back as he finally came downstairs.

Now aged 28, the latter was still wearing dark clothes with his trademark long coat and clasped boots. His hair was slightly longer now and neatly tied in a ponytail. His face had lost a tiny bit of his teenage years angelic grace, making him look more manly and he was now slightly broader in the shoulders.

He still looked insanely handsome and paired up with Vinda, the two made a dazzling sight.

He too messed with Aurelius curls as he walked by the table, the latter toothily smiling back at his father.

Gellert then studied his daughter’s face. ‟Gretchen, are you wearing makeup?”

‟Of course not Vati,” the redhead replied looking as though butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

Vinda smirked in the background as Gellert sighed loudly. ‟Please, remember that you are not allowed to date before you turn seventeen AND that I will be proud of you wathever the ridiculous house they sort you into.”

Albus followed his husband in the kitchen. He was sporting shorter hair and was looking quite dapper himself with his new grey and purple suit. ‟And of course, you waited until you were of age to be dating. Right, Gel?”

‟I thought you had your daughter at seventeen and had lost your virginity at fourteen?”chimed in Vinda as she innocently shrugged. ‟Je dois mélanger certains faits...”

‟Thank you both for your support. I’m trying to break the circle of teenage pregnancy here.”

Aurelius frowned because he wasn’t understanding everything that was being said in this conversation, as his fathers exchanged a goodbye kiss.

‟Don’t do anything too reckless Gel and please, try not to get yourself killed.” Albus added, before they kissed once more and Vinda cleared her throat.

‟It’s not because our boss is sending us on a suicide mission once more that we are going to get killed this time,” Gellert smugly replied as Albus stared darkly at him.

The auror shruged and picked his luggage as Vinda snorted, took him by the arm and winked at Gretchen.

The French beauty then turned around and stared at Albus as she grasped a handful of floo powder. ‟Oh yes, Dumbledore! Before I forget about it, I wanted to tell you that I’m quite proud of what you did on your Paris trip.” Vinda pursed her lips and gave him a knowing look.‟Le coup de la jarretelle?  Very kinky. I didn’t knew you had it in you.”

Gellert gave her a dark look right before they vanished as Albus blushed crimson and Gretchen rolled her eyes.

Aurelius frowned at the table.‟What does kinky mean?”

Yep, it was another classic day at the cottage…

***

The Great Hall looked magnificent with the start of year decorations hanging here and there across its room. All the  returning students were chatting loudly as they intently waited for the first years to get sorted into one of the school’s four houses. It seemed everyone was anxiously awaiting the feast.

After all, it was a known fact that the school’s delicious food was usually severely missed by a vast majority of its students during the summer months.

At the teacher’s table, Galatea Merrythought was sitting on Albus’s left, while Minerva McGonagall was sitting on the redhead’s right.

The three colleagues were talking about what they did last summer while Albus proudly stared at his daughter who was now next in line for the sorting.

While some students looked scared or very anxious about the whole process, Gretchen seemed cool and collected as she glanced around the room with her mismatched eyes.

‟Grindelwald, Gretchen,” finally called Headmaster Black and Albus paused his conversation to watch his daughter gracefully walk up the stairs and sit down to be sorted.

‟Isn’t she your housemate’s daughter?” wondered Galatea as Albus gave her a quick nod.

It was known by most that Albus was living with a housemate, a good-looking man named Gellert Grindelwald, in one of the Hogsmeade cottage the school was renting to it’s staff.

Galatea pondered once more what really was the nature of the two men’s relationship, as she remarked with interest that her colleague was wearing a new ring on his left ring finger and that Gretchen had the same hair color as his.

As Galatea was busy making assumptions of her own, Albus had to concede it really was a good thing that their children had Gellert’s surname instead of his, since it meant no one in Hogwarts would have to know Gretchen was directly related to him.

Well no one except Minerva, but that was another story…

‟It’s pronounced Grindel **V** ald, Professor. You’ll see, it’s not very hard to say it right once you know this is just some basic German pronunciation,” piped up Gretchen as the students began to gossip in the background.

Headmaster Black seemed to be on the verge of loosing his calm and to reply something, before he decided to just drop the matter and to quickly place the Sorting Hat onto Gretchen’s head.

‟Well, it’s easy to know who she gets her temper and her sassiness from,”commented Minerva as she winked at Albus and Galatea quirked an eyebrow at her.

Albus smirked as he took a sip of pumpkin juice. There absolutely was no doubt about it, Gretchen was Gellert’s daughter through and through.

There was a brief moment of hesitation before the hat gave his final verdict.

‟RAVENCLAW,”he declared as the Great Hall erupted in cheers.

As Headmaster Black took the hat off, Gretchen gave everyone a dazzling smile before she proudly walked down the stairs and up to her new table, where students were still cheering for her.

‟I’m not looking forward to having her in my class, I can tell you that,”commented Galatea as Minerva nodded and Albus’ heart swelled with pride.

***

‟Miss Grindelwald, can I talk to you for a minute?”

‟Of course, Professor Dumbledore.” Gretchen replied as she sat at a desk and waited for everyone to leave her father’s classroom.

She checked her painted nails and then turned her attention back to her father when the two were finally alone in the classroom. ‟What is it, Dad?”

‟Are you happy about your sorting?”Albus asked with mild concern.

Today, he was wearing his black and lavender suit and Gretchen flashed him a smile. His fashion sense really was going south.‟Don’t worry, Dad! I already knew beforehand that I would be sorted into Ravenclaw. Plus, blue suits my hair, don’t you think?”

Albus smiled back at her.‟Ah, so you knew all along where you would be sorted?”

‟Yes, I had Seen it a couple of times already,”she simply stated as she got up and picked her bag.

‟So you still think you are a Seer?” Albus gave her an amused look. ‟And what else have you Seen then?”

She shrugged. ‟Twins.”

‟Twins?” Albus frowned. ‟ New friends?”

Gretchen shook her head. ‟Nope, new siblings.” She had a smug look on her face as her father frowned.‟ A surprise gift for your thirtieth birthday. Vati is going to flip once he finds out you are expecting and grandma is going to be so overjoyed.”

She flashed her confused father her trademark grin as she walked out of the classroom and left him pondering if she was messing with him on purpose or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BUT IS HE REALLY EXPECTING THOUGH????  
> So I had two ideas for possible sequels/short fics that could go in the same verse as Always You:  
> -First one : (Set in 1905) Gellert, now an auror, gets a new work partner, Vinda Rosier. Albus is convinced his husband is having an affair with the gorgeous witch (basically, jealous Al).  
> -Second one : We discover if Gretchen really has the Sight aka if Albus is really expecting twins (features Minerva McGonagall as the poor BFF who gets dragged into this).  
> What do you guys think? Is there something else you would like to read in the same verse?  
> Last but not least, I would like to thanks everyone who took the time to comment or to leave kudos on this fic.


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